Appendix C
by timidvoice
Summary: The Edison Group have been hunting down the last surviving members of thier failed experiment, and the chase leads them to two long-lost, and unexpected, children: Jace and Clary. It's this discovery that uncovers their past and reveals thier future.
1. The Other Supernaturals

The Other Supernaturals

Dr. Davidoff sipped his coffee as the computer booted up, whizzing and beeping, and making him wish he'd sent in an application for a new one. How could anyone expect a doctor as imperative as him to this operation to work with mediocre equipment? The screen came to life and offered him the pass code page. He typed quickly, a name, a name he wished he could forget, and then waited again.

When the profile loaded, he scanned the files and opened one. He was so tired of looking at it, of staring at the names, that he almost wished he could just leave it alone. But he couldn't, not really. Too many of his subjects were…wrong.

Chloe Saunders.

Her most recent picture popped up. She looked child-like, even at her age. Curious, half dazed, eyes looked back at him, accusing and angry. Her wispy hair fluttered around her face and fell daintily on her shoulders. He followed her hair line onto her shoulders and the soft blue shirt she'd been wearing, standard clothing for Edison Group subjects, and there on the shirt sleeve, the Edison Group logo. The dark blue made her skin look even paler. She was fairly beautiful.

Davidoff turned away from the picture when he remembered the last time he'd seen her. She hadn't been so child-like then, not nearly as innocent as those eyes gave way to believe. She'd been fighting, furious, and she'd hated him for what he'd done. But he couldn't help that; it was his job to create and remake her. She might hate him for it, but this was where she belonged.

Derek Souza

His most recent photo was old, from when he was still a child and Kit still worked along side him. Derek's dark eyes gleamed out from under his dark mussed hair. A very boyish face, completely trusting and brave. Unlike the girl, his blue shirt made the dark skin on his chest even darker. Derek had also changed since that picture, though, his looks hadn't improved much from then. Well, Davidoff would take care of the boy.

Victoria Enright.

She was as feisty as her mother, maybe more so with her unstable gift. Her dark eyes were shrouded by her black hair, but the sinister curve of her puffy lips said exactly what she was thinking. Victoria wasn't going to let anyone push her around, not with the gift she was slowly tempering.

Simon Bea

He'd just received his new picture from the nurses at Lyle House. Davidoff could still remember Simon as a boy, but this young man made was no innocent boy. His brown eyes stared callously up at him through the rustled blond hair, and his mouth was turned down in a permanent frown. At least he seemed to be able to control his powers.

Davidoff exited the picture and considered the last two subjects of his experiment. They'd been missing for years. They'd never even set foot in the Edison Group building, not even after they'd been born. It troubled him immensely that two of his subjects had been missing for years. They needed to be located immediately, before an incident could occur.

Those two had been the bane of his existence since their father had gone into hiding. Davidoff had always been terrified that they'd lose control and make a scene. He'd have to go and collect their bodies from public morgue. Bring them back and here and study their lifeless corpses.

But so far, nothing had happened, which was good. Not great. Just good. He really did need to find them though. They belonged with the Edison Group, they weren't meant to be in the open public with their uncontrollable powers. They belonged to him.

If only their father hadn't run off with them like an idiot! What did he think he was doing? The Edison Group had given Valentine the information he needed to begin work. There had been an agreement, a physical agreement, between him and the Edison Group. Once they'd matured a little, Valentine was supposed to hand them over in exchange for help on his war against what he called "Downworlders". Well, the agreement was void, but the children were still his. It was for the good of society that the children be brought back.

Dr. Davidoff placed the cup down and clicked on the file of first child. There was no picture, there couldn't be one. Just a name with a description of the state of his gifts. Some change in his mobile abilities. His reflexes were enhanced. His strength enriched. He was the perfect warrior, the perfect weapon, and perhaps the most unstable of all the subjects.

"Ah, Jace," Dr. Davidoff sighed, shaking his head. "What did that man do to you?"

There had been not a word of Jace or the man who had claimed to be his father. Nothing. No news was good news, but still, Jace shouldn't be out in the world, wreaking havoc with the power endowed in him. Dr. Davidoff knew it was his job to find him and get him somewhere private, somewhere out of the public eye.

The other file contained information on a girl. There was almost nothing on file for her. A name, Clarissa Morgenstern, a date of birth, but nothing else. Davidoff didn't know what she was capable of, what risk she posed, what she even looked like. Her mother had run off with her before she'd been born.

"That woman has no idea what she's done!" Davidoff snarled at the screen. "Her daughter belongs right here, with the Edison Group. She has no right to that girl." He took a deep breath and scratched his cheek. "Clarissa belongs to the Edison group. Clarissa and Jace _both_ belong to the Edison Group."


	2. All in the Family

All in the Family

"I've made my demands, Robert, Maryse; whatever you make of them, keep in mind that your family now hangs in the balance as much as mine."

"Are you threatening us?" hissed Robert edging closer to the semi-transparent figure. His eyes glittered coldly, like ice, and if he'd been glaring at anyone else, they would have backed down. As it was, Valentine Morgenstern had no qualms with the look he was getting. In fact, he found it quite amusing.

"I want what is mine," he said simply, eyes straying to Maryse, who clenched her lips together. "Is that so surprising? Anyway, you can't possibly want the brat running around your home, putting your children in danger. I'm offering you a simple solution."

"You're disgusting!" spat Maryse. She lurched off the desk positioned before the fire and lunged at Valentine's figure. He stood before the heart, and Robert had to snatch Maryse back before she went right through his non-physical apparition. "He is your _son_ and you make it sound as if he's a piece of property you can own." She shook her head in her husband's grasp. "Jace is a person not an animal."

"My son belongs to me," said Valentine indifferently. "He came from me, I raised him, I taught him everything he knows, I consider him mine."

"He's a person, you can't trade for him!" cried Maryse.

"People have been bartered over for thousands of years," Valentine shrugged. "Anyway, you can consider it a return, not a trade. Jace was mine, I gave him to you to care for, and now you're returning him to me."

"We're not returning Jace to you-"

"He's mine by right," Valentine cut Robert off. "He's yours only as long as I'm not there to care for him. I'm here, so I will take him back."

"Jace is more our son than yours, you must realize that," said Robert. "He belongs in this house, with his brothers, sister, mother and father. We're not going to give him to you."

Valentine raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "Then I will _take _him from you. And when I do, it will be at a considerable cost to your family. How will you justify that?"

"Justify what?" whispered Robert.

"If, in the course of obtaining my son, I bring harm to your children, can you live with yourself? Will you put my son's life before that of Isabelle? Alec? Or dear little Maxwell?" He laughed cruelly, shaking his head. "And you call yourself good parents?"

"Don't you dare come near my children!" snarled Maryse, and she twisted free of Robert's arms. "If you lay a single hand on any of them I'll hunt you down and put the knife in your heart myself."

"All I want is my son," Valentine said reasonably. "I promise to leave your family alone if you give him to me. When this mess of a war is over, I will promote you back into my inner circle and forgive you all your crimes against me."

"When this war is over," seethed Robert, "you will be dead. We are keeping Jace, and if you try to take him from us, we'll hunt you down and bring him back."

"He's _ours_!" Maryse snarled again.

"Yours, is he?" asked Valentine with a smirk. "I thought you said I couldn't own him? But you can? Perhaps the boy should be allowed to make his own choice. Bring him here now. Let me speak with him."

"Not in your dreams," whispered Maryse. "You'd probably try to hurt him."

"Hurt him? He is my son, Maryse. I wish only to help him, care for him." Valentine threw his hands up in frustration. "I will teach him to be a shadowhunter."

"He already is one," grunted Robert.

"And that was my work," asserted Valentine. "I made him what he is, you can't deny that. So do what's right and return the boy to me."

Maryse was pacing before him in silent fury. The way Valentine spoke of Jace, it disgusted her. Jace was always "_my_ son", he always belonged to Valentine. Such possession confused Maryse. All she could see when she thought of Jace was the precious boy he'd been and the young troubled man he was now. She saw his golden eyes and his shaggy gold hair. The thought of Valentine laying a hand on his face, with his delicate cheek bones and beautiful eyes, made her shiver. Jace deserved to be loved and cared for, not abused and beaten.

"Why are you so adverse to me taking my son?" asked Valentine innocently.

"I remember!" cried Maryse before Robert could stop her. "I remember the bruises, the cuts, the burns all over him when we first took him in. The things you did to him as a boy, I saw all the marks. I'd ask him what they were from and he'd just say an accident. But you…you did things."

Suddenly, a desperate gleam entered Valentine's eyes. "It was the only way to control the boy. He'd needed discipline, control. I had to do it, or he never would have learned."

"You _beat _him! No parent would ever do that to a child." Maryse was clenching her fists furiously. "The way he acted when he was little. He used to flinch away from me if I raised my voice, if I was angry, if I came at him too fast. What did you do to him?"

Valentine lost the gleam and narrowed his eyes. "What I had to. And now look at him, he's the finest example of a shadowhunter there is. I made him strong, I made him powerful, I made him a _shadowhunter_! Without my training, he would be nothing."

"No, you made him a murderer," accused Robert. "We made him a shadowhunter. We showed him there was more to this life than killing. If anything, we saved the boy from a life of brutality, yours and his own."

"Think what you will, Robert," growled Valentine. "The boy is mine and I intend to take him back. But, as I said, if you're willing to give him to me…I may find mercy to spare for your family."

"Never," murmured Robert.

"Don't refuse my offer just yet," said Valentine, his voice slick and warm. "You must realize that the Clave is flawed, unprepared. They aren't ready to challenge me, while I am at the brink of its destruction. Not long now, and I will raze the Clave to the ground. Then where will you be?"

Robert and Maryse both paused to listen to Valentine. It was his greatest power, really. The ability to paint pictures in their minds of a glorious future. They saw the destruction of the Clave and the rise of a new order, and they could be there, in the middle of it all. They could rise with it…

"Just give me my son and I'll make you more powerful than ever. We all know the Clave is flawed, I want you to help me fix it." Valentine watched them consider the idea, he could taste victory.

"You're asking us to sacrifice our son for protection?" Robert said softly.

"He is not your son," pointed out Valentine again. "You're sacrificing nothing by giving him to me. Just answer me, please."

Maryse and Robert looked up and held onto each other. It felt like by listening, they were already forging a pact with Valentine. There could be no turning around from this. They'd heard what he had to say, and now, they were bound to answer truthfully. Robert nodded for Valentine to continue.

"Do you want your children, and by yours, I mean Alec, Isabelle, and Maxwell, to grow up in a world of safety and praise?" He looked to them both and they nodded unwillingly. "Do you want the war to end?" Another nod. "Can there be anything more important for parents than to ensure the safety of their children?"

"Why do you ask this when you know the answer?" demanded Maryse desperately.

"I'm not finished," Valentine said with a cold stare. "Do you think that my favor is a bad thing, when I plan to destroy all the demons in this world? I want to save the Clave, and you want destroy it?" They both shook their heads frantically, and then jumped when there was a thumping sound outside the door to the library. "That's all I see, now answer me this last question: Do you trust my word?"

Of all the things Robert and Maryse had ever seen and heard of Valentine, he had never lied, and that was the worst part. He'd always kept his word to them, and they had to admit now, that they trusted him, even though what he was proposing was horrible. "You've never lied, per say, but neither have you told the entire truth to us," said Robert eventually.

"My daughter said much the same thing," murmured Valentine, more to himself. "Let me swear to you now, then, that if you give me my son, I will leave your family out of this war. I will stop all contact with you until the Clave is destroyed. I will give you leave to even fight against me in this war, and I won't hold you responsible when it's all over. It will be as if we never communicated, and then, it will seem as if I took you back out of the good grace of my heart." Here, Valentine smiled at them. "Just give me my son."

Robert shivered and looked at Maryse silently, well aware that Valentine was watching. "If we agreed," he said, never taking his eyes away from Maryse, "and you were defeated by the Clave, would you reveal our betrayal?"

Maryse placed her hands to her mouth to stop the scream working in her throat. "We are not agreeing!" she said consolingly to herself.

Valentine smiled and tipped his head. "If I am defeated by the Clave, I will surely be dead, so don't worry there." He placed his palms upward in a show of innocence. "You will have deniability."

"That's not what I worry about," said Robert, and he closed his eyes in horror.

"When it comes down to it," Valentine said evenly, "you have a simple choice. You will either protect your children by giving me mine, or you will sacrifice them for a boy who's not your blood. By sacrificing one, you save many; isn't that an honorable exchange? Isn't it your job to save your children, not mine?"

What he was saying was horrible, terrible, a crime against every oath they ever took, but Maryse and Robert were forced to listen. Max and Isabelle and Alec were their children, their flesh and blood. But did that make Jace anything less? It was now down to the line: were they going to protect their family, or protect their blood? Who came first in their family?

"Oh, Robert," Maryse said weakly, thinking of her little son Max, curled up at that very moment, asleep. The idea of Valentine being anywhere near him was painful in itself. Then she thought of beautiful Isabelle, her lovely, willful daughter. What would Valentine do to her if he ever got his hands on her? And Alec, her son, her handsome wise son, what would Valentine do to him?

"I swear they will all be safe." Valentine blinked slowly, never moving. "All I want is my son."

Robert heaved a great sigh. How could you surrender your children, when it was you greatest job to defend them? How did a father forfeit their lives when there was the chance to save them? He squeezed Maryse's hand and swallowed.

"All you want is Jace?"

"Yes."

"And you'll leave us alone if we give him to you?"

"Well enough alone."

"You'll spare our children any pain?"

"Not even a scratch."

Robert glanced at Maryse. Every part of her wanted to say no, that Jace was as much her son at Alec, but she knew she couldn't. Unable to say no, Maryse bowed her head and pressed her lips together.

"Valentine," said Robert.

"Yes?" He smiled brightly and looked expectant.

"We'll…we'll find a way to get Jace to you. But, right now, we just can't. If we dragged him out of bed in the night, with Alec and Isabelle and Max…it just wouldn't work." He felt his throat clench.

"I assumed as much, Robert; it's understandable." Valentine nodded. "The club Pandemonium, tomorrow, send the three of them there. Tell them a demon is terrorizing the Mundanes. That's all you have to do. Isabelle and Alec will come home, and I'll have Jace."

Maryse finally managed to look up. She blinked away a tear and found her voice. "Are you going to hurt him?"

Valentine's eyes betrayed nothing of what he was feeling when he said, "I will not accept disobedience from my children." And then the form of Valentine flickered and was gone.

Maryse turn to Robert and the two collapsed into chairs opposite each other. They were shaking terribly, wondering if they'd just made the biggest mistake of their lives, and fearing that they'd never live down the guilt eating away at their insides. The sunrise was still an hour away, but neither was going to find sleep tonight, not after what they'd just sworn to do. Maryse rose first and Robert joined her, and then the two made for the kitchen, unaware of minute figure darting down the hall.

Max was shaking so badly from what he'd heard that when he made a sharp right turn for his brother's hall, he lost his footing and went straight down, landing hard on the carpet. There was a heavy thump as the thick carpet took the impact, and a table a few feet away shivered. The vase on it wavered and almost fell to the floor. Max clamped his hands to his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut.

The vase wiggled a little and then came to halt. Max let out his breath and crawled over to the wall to sit and regain control of himself. But how could he control himself when he'd heard what he'd heard! The things his parents were planning! They wouldn't hurt Jace, they simply couldn't.

But hadn't that been what they'd said? In exchange for his, Izzy's, and Alec's life they were going to give Jace to Valentine. They were setting Jace up for a horrible fate, and he didn't even know!

Max sat for five minutes, trying to decide what to do. If he told, his family would be destroyed by Valentine, and if he didn't, Jace would be Valentine's captive again. Was he going to betray his parents for Jace?

"Alec!" Max whispered harshly, and started to pad down the hall, making sure he didn't knock anything on the way. He got to Alec's door and turned the knob quietly. "Alec, wake up!"

There was a grunt and Alec flipped over in bed. Max took a running start and launched himself onto the bed. Alec was fast asleep, mouth open, and snoring lightly. Max shook his brother's arm gently and waited for him to wake. When Alec continued to snore, Max pinched his arm and shook rougher.

"Alec, come on, this is important!"

Like a startled dragon, Alec snorted loudly, flailed about, and then yelped once. He looked around quickly, probably for an imaginary foe, and then found Max sitting on his bed. Alec blinked once and then smiled tiredly.

"Max, what's up?" he yawned and then shook his head so his hair flew out.

"I was just listening in on mom and dad in the library-"

"You were spying?" cut in Alec with a disapproving frown. "Listen, anything you overheard probably isn't what you think because you only heard half."

"Alec! I heard everything, and they were talking about Jace." Max sounded exasperated and his eyes radiated a manic light.

"Who isn't talking about Jace nowadays?" mused Alec, and then saw how serious his brother was. "Alright, alright, what did you hear?"

"Okay," Max said, and then summoned up a huge breath. "I was going to get water in the middle of the night, and I heard all these voices, and recognized two: mom and dad. But the third, I didn't know; it was kinda weird, really calm, but scary. I thought they were being threatened by someone, so I listened in.

"It was Valentine, Alec!" Max gasped and he jumped a little. Alec wanted to laugh it off, but something in his brother's voice made him consider the words. "He said he wanted Jace back, because Jace was his son, and it was his right to have Jace."

Alec swallowed. So Max didn't know yet?

"He was lying, wasn't he, Alec? Jace isn't really Valentine's son, right?"

Hesitating a little, Alec said, "Well…what else happened with mom and dad?"

"Right." Max thought for a minute. "Valentine threatened mom and dad and said that if they didn't give him Jace, he was gonna take him. And, if we were there and tried to stop him, he'd _kill _us.

"And then, he went on about how mom and dad wouldn't be in any trouble with the Clave, and he would forgive them for all their crimes when he was in charge. He said all they had to do was give him Jace. And…" Max remembered suddenly what his mom had said. "Was Jace really beaten as a kid?"

"Where'd you hear that?" demanded Alec, eyes popping.

"Mom accused Valentine of hitting Jace when he was a boy. Did that really happen? No one hit Jace, did they?"

Max had always worshipped Jace, and he just couldn't see anyone hurting Jace. Jace never got hurt. Jace was too strong to be hurt. Max just couldn't see it happening.

"We raised Jace, he came to live with us when he was ten," hedged Alec, not wanting to admit that Jace was Valentine's son. "What more did you hear?"

"They talked for a while about stuff I didn't get, I then I knocked the shelf outside the library and almost got caught. But anyway, in the end…Alec, in the end they said they'd do it! They were gonna set it up for Jace to get caught so that Valentine wouldn't hurt us!"

"No!" Alec said at once, jumping up. "Max, no, that's not what happened."

"Yes, dad said they'd do it, next time you went out to the club-"

A knock on the door and Max clamped his mouth shut and clenched the blankets. Alec carefully arranged it so it looked more casual and then the door opened. It was Maryse, with a glass of orange juice in her hands and a tempered smile on her face. She saw the two and frowned.

"Something wrong, Max?"

"It was a nightmare, mom," Max said at once. "I had a nightmare, so I came to see Alec." Alec breathed out in relief. He stared at his mom for a moment, and noted nothing different about her.

"Oh, well come here, Max, I'll help you back into bed." Maryse motioned out the door and down the hall. Max glanced once at Alec, pleading with his eyes, and then followed his mom out the door. She led him down the hall to his room and opened the door for him.

"Max, are you alright, you're shaking?" She eyed him carefully, saw the paleness, the shaking, the mistrust in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine, mom," he said in a measured voice. "Mom, our family, we're going to stay together, aren't we?" Max couldn't believe it. There was no way his family was going to out Jace. Jace was his brother, his favorite brother, the best shadowhunter ever.

Maryse felt her eyes widen in shock. She reached out and patted Max on the back. "We are a family, Max; a family stays together."

Max climbed into bed, but his heart wouldn't lighten at his mother's words. He snuggled under the blankets, but his thoughts were on the conversation he'd overheard and Jace. Maryse, after seeing her son to bed, padded down the hall with her head down. She came to a stop outside Jace's door and then gently turned the knob.

Her eyes swept the room quickly, alighting on the sleeping figure, twisted in the blankets, groaning. She moved silently until she was at the foot of Jace's bed, looking down. He flipped about and groaned again, this time, his teeth dug into his lip and an agonizing grimace overcame his face. He was in obvious pain.

Maryse reached out and shook his arm. Jace, unlike Alec, woke quickly and silently, eyelids peeling back and golden irises widening. There was a sheen of sweat on his face, drawing out his cheekbones and matting his golden hair. There was, for a moment, a desperate terrified look in his eyes, but then it was gone and he blinked calmly.

"Maryse," he said levelly. "What is it?"

"I was passing you door and I heard you moaning. Are you alright?" she asked tenderly. If this was going to be his last day, Maryse decided, it would be the best he could remember.

Jace closed his eyes to consider his nightmare; it had featured his father mostly, along with a swirling shadow with angry red eyes. "Never better," he answered gruffly.

"Oh," Maryse said, a frown creasing his lips. "If you're sure."


	3. The Darkness Ascending

The Darkness Ascending

Miles away from the Institute, in a crummy abandoned warehouse, Valentine smiled and brushed the excess dust off his coat. He glanced around the empty place, scrunching his nose a little at the crates, stacked atop each other in a pyramid, and then gripped his hands behind his back and began a slow walk toward the stairs.

Valentine strolled along the steps of the raised walk. He ran his hands over the railing, thinking over the conversation he'd just had. Maryse had been in terrified shock and Robert looked mutinous. But there, in their wide eyes, was the truth staring at him. He knew they would defend Jace, but only as far as their own children allowed. Alec, Isabelle, and Max were far more important to Maryse and Robert than an unwanted child. How they'd looked so lost when they agreed to give Jace to him.

"Jace," he said the name with a curled lip. "And then Clarissa, and then the whole family together again."

He continued on, coming to a stop at a small office door. The wording, which must have at one point said Manager, was scuffed off and now the door window had bits of black and scratches on it. He dusted off the doorknob and swung the door to. He ambled in, scanning the deserted office with a reserved interest. There was desk near the far wall with a broken chair and a stack of papers in a basket. The lamp was askew and hanging slightly off the side. File cabinets lined the walls and a few were lying on their side on the floor. It was a sad place, and Valentine thrived in it.

He found his way to the center of the room and kicked a few boxes out of the way. On the floor, chalked in, was a summoning circle, and about it, burnt lines from a fire. Valentine's eyes glinted coldly on the circle and he entered it, whispering under his breath.

There was a furious snarl and the white lines were suddenly aflame. The fire streaked up the lines, sending sparks everywhere. The lights everywhere else dimmed and flickered out. Coldness seeped into the room and the air seemed to freeze, Valentine continued to whisper under his breath, though it was harder to breathe. Soon, all that could be seen was the lines of fire in the dark, that, and Valentine's glowing eyes, now reminiscent of coals. The walls began to shake with the fury of the summoning. He closed his eyes and finished the incantation, a smile curling his lips.

Slowly, smoke began to drift off the floor were the lines were. Seeping gas fingers raked the air and stretched towards the ceiling, groping for life. Valentine was smiling openly now, satisfied with the effect his summoning was having. The smoke billowed more and more, issuing from the fire lines until the entire room was full. Only Valentine's circle was untouched by the noxious fumes.

Then, from the depths of the smoke, a violent red light began to glow.

"Clary, are you coming?"

Startled out of light sleep, Clary clamped her eyes shut to keep the light out, and groaned to herself. She'd been out late last night, late enough to even surprise Luke when she'd stumbled in, panting about a raid near the north end of Manhattan. She hadn't intended to go along with Jace, Isabelle, and Alec, but when she'd shown up at the Institute they were heading out the door. And, she had to speak with Jace. He muttered something about her stalking him and then shoved by; Clary was forced to tag along.

"Clary, I hope you're awake because I'm coming in," Luke warned and then opened to door a crack. He saw Clary peering at him from under the covers and inched in a little closer. "Do you want to go to the hospital with me? I thought we'd visit your mother."

As much as she wanted to say no, I wanna sleep, Clary owed her mom more than that. She emerged from the blankets like a butterfly from a cocoon and glanced at the mess around her. "Do I have time to shower?"

"Yeah, just hop in. I'll run out to get coffee," Luke said and closed the door.

Clary stumbled out of bed and meandered around, tripping over piles of clothes and a few stray weapons. On the dresser, her phone glowed with a new text message, and on the floor, her art supplies were splayed out wantonly. She'd been in the middle of a picture before she'd gone after her brother. Clary stared at the drawing a moment, trying to get back on her train of thought. There were the makings of a woman with curly hair and a wise face looking back.

"Who are you?" asked Clary to the painting, because she really didn't know who she was looking at, but then turned away and picked up her phone. The message was from Isabelle, and she was going on about a party at the Pandemonium that night. Maybe then she could talk to Jace.

With a sigh, Clary replaced the phone and stumbled out of the room and toward the shower. When she finally slid into the warm waterfall, Clary leaned against the side of the tub and closed her eyes. It was too much to think about right then. Jace was becoming the most confusing and annoying person she'd ever met, and, as she considered her feelings toward him, she felt sickened.

"I'm his _sister_," Clary said to herself.

She'd been trying to get Jace alone for days now, just to talk to him about their feelings. She couldn't be around him without thinking how wrong it was. And without admitting to herself how much she wanted him. Clary shuddered at her thoughts, but how could she not think about Jace that way? There was no one like him. He was so handsome, funny, mature…and _related_.

Clary curled up on herself and had to bite her lip. Jace was her brother. She couldn't think about him like that anymore. She had to see him only as a brother, a person who loved her, but didn't lust for her, someone who was going to look out for her but not sacrifice himself for her.

So Clary had tried to corner Jace, but he didn't want to stop. It was like he knew what was coming and was bolting as fast away as possible. And Jace, well, he was a fast runner to begin with. By the end of the night, Clary had succeeded in saying hello and asking him if they could talk.

It was going to have to be today, Clary decided. She'd have to hunt Jace down after she went and saw her mom and finally just get it out. It was scary, because Clary just didn't know how Jace was going to take it. If he got mad, which is very well might, he would cover up under a mask of sarcasm and cruelty and rip her to shreds. And Clary didn't know if she could handle that.

She finished up in the bath, taking a few extra minutes to soak up the heat and relax her muscles, but then snapped the water off and flipped her messy hair out of the way. In the mirror, she studied her face, and cringed a little at the reflection. Her cheeks were pale and freckled, her red hair looking more carroty than ever. She flicked her eyes down her body, at her flat chest and stubby legs. What was Jace seeing in her?

"You ready?" called a voice from the downstairs level.

Clary stuck her face out the door and scrunched her nose up at the cold. "Yeah, give me five minutes!"

In a flurry of towels, Clary dashed back down to her room and plunged into her dressers. She scrounged out some clothes and slipped into them before racing back out the door with a hair tie in her hand. When Clary stumbled down the steps and into the kitchen, she found Luke at the table, sipping a coffee.

"You look ruffled," he said gruffly, obviously trying to cover a laugh. "Want some coffee?"

"Every minute of every day," Clary breathed and fell upon the coffee like it the last thing she'd eat for days. As she sipped, she peered at Luke closely. "Luke, do you think after we visit my mom you could take me to the Institute?"

Luke glanced up in surprise. "Yeah, sure. You forget something there?"

"I…" Clary looked into her coffee. "I think I need to talk to Jace, and yesterday I didn't really get the chance."

This time Luke sighed and nodded. He had to understand. She'd seen him watch Jace closely, waiting for a moment when he could finally step up and offer him a hand. But Jace, he'd just wanted to be alone, so Luke knew Jace was ready to explode. Clary was going to have a hard time pulling anything out of her brother.

"Maybe it's about time," agreed Luke and he made for the door. "Come on, we can get to the hospital in about fifteen minutes. Then I'll get us something to eat and drop you off."

Clary felt a surge of affection for Luke, who was more like father than she thought she deserved. Her real father had tried to kill him and her mother had been stringing him along for years, and he was still there, that strong eternal figure who would never let anyone hurt her. She smiled uncertainly at him and wondered, when this was all over, if she could ever call him dad.

"Thanks, but you don't have to do that," Clary said, following him out the door.

"When's the last time you cooked yourself anything?" he challenged. "Your mother would never forgive me if I let her daughter starve. And, knowing Jocelyn the way I do, I don't want her enmity."

"Doughnuts sound good," Clary murmured, and then pushed through the door into the bright day sun that lit up the yard. In the dirt drive, Luke's old tuck waited, and Clary trailed Luke into it and buckled up with a grim look. "Do you know if they've got any updates on my mom?"

"I haven't asked, and really, what is a Mundie doctor going to know about your mom?" Luke shook his head. "I wish we knew how Valentine did this."

The ride was a quiet affair, very contained and worried. Everywhere on the streets Clary looked, she wondered, did those people know the truth? Did they know that a man, somewhere not far away, was trying to summon an army of demons? Did they know their lives were in danger? Clary knew now, but wasn't sure if she was happy about it.

The hospital, when they arrived, was buzzing with the daily round of accidents and incidents. Doctors were running in and out, frantic in their own small world that revolved around a singe patient. Clary and Luke simply slipped into the hospital, barely noticed in the melee, melting into shadows.

"Hello?" asked a nice nurse on the bottom floor. "Who are you here for?"

"Jocelyn Fray," Luke said immediately.

The nurse flipped through a few pages in a book and scanned it. She glanced up, taking in Luke and Clary, and smiled warmly at Clary. "Your mom's on the third floor, room 334. Visiting hours end at nine."

"Thank you," Clary said with an unsure smile and then she and Luke left for the elevator. Clary watched herself in the reflective walls of the elevator as they rose to the third floor. Her eyes had a tired, very deep look to them, like she was already an adult. Was that what happened after you became a shadowhunter, you grew up faster? The elevator binged and the doors opened on the third floor.

As she walked down the hall peering through open doors, she saw families reunited, smiling and crying, talking and sometimes, just sitting in silence and enjoying each other's company. She thought of her mother, lying in her coma-silence, never waking, barely living. One day, Clary thought, I'd be like the rest of these families.

She and Luke found Jocelyn's room and entered. As they had expected, there was no sound, no life, in the room. In the daylight, streaming in through the window, Jocelyn was tucked under blankets and sleeping soundly. She looked like sleeping beauty, Clary thought. But who was supposed to kiss her awake?

Clary took the chair nearest the bed and watched her mom. Luke leaned against the wall by the window and they shared a deep silence. For a while, all Clary wanted to do was sit and watch her mom and wish fervently she'd draw a deep breath and open her eyes, but as it was, Jocelyn kept sleeping. After an hour and half had passed, Luke cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"Clary, I'm gonna head down to the cafeteria and get us something to eat. Anything in particular you want?" He waited at the door, eyeing her carefully.

"No, whatever looks good," she said vaguely and continued to watch her mom.

"Okay, I'll be back soon," Luke promised and he was gone, leaving Clary alone, as she needed.

Clary waited a few minutes and finally swallowed her painful silence. "Mom," she began shakily, "I think I need some help. It's about Jace-well, Jonathan, I guess. It's about your son, my brother." She looked closely at her mom, at her even breathing. "We, Jace and me, have this problem, and I don't know how to fix it, cause…cause I don't know if I want to fix it."

She had to draw a deep breath now, because even though her mom was unconscious, Clary still felt that her mom could hear her. She wrung her hands and thought of Jace before she continued.

"See, Jace and me didn't know we were brother and sister when we first met, and, well, if you could just see Jace, mom, you'd understand. I sorta liked him, liked him _more _than a sister should, and he liked me. And now, now that we know the truth, we can't go back! I can't look at Jace and not think how much I like him, and then, I hate myself for thinking it." It was pouring out of Clary now, an open wound spitting out puss.

"He's my brother, and I need to tell him that, but I just can't see a world where I'll see Jace and think brother. I'll always remember him kissing me, smiling at me, making me feel warm on the inside. And, I'm scared to tell him, cause he's scared too, and Jace hides his fear with cruelty, and I don't think I can handle Jace mad at me.

"Mom, I'm scared. I'm scared to do the right thing."

She finally closed her mouth and lowered her eyes. Clary was surprised when she felt a few tears trickle down her cheek. After a few minutes, when Clary dared look up, her mom was still there, still sleeping, and still as beautiful as ever. And then Clary realized what people meant by courage.

Courage was doing something, even if it scared you, because it was right. Because you knew that no matter how it affected you, it was right. Just like her mom, running away with her, even though it meant losing everything she loved. Jocelyn had given up her life as a shadowhunter for her, Clary, and done it without a thought. She'd sacrificed herself so Valentine couldn't hurt anyone, and done it regardless of herself.

Now Clary was going to have to face Jace, and do what was right. She was ready. She smiled through her tears and squeezed her hands together. She knew what she was going to do. "Thanks, mom."

"Go to the night club, Pandemonium," Valentine ordered to the creature, swirling around in the mist. "A boy will be there, a shadowhunter boy; he has blond hair, gold eyes, very skilled. My son, Jonathan. You're going to bring him to me, _un_spoiled. I realize this may involve using force, and I have nothing against you harming him. Just not to an extreme extent."

Valentine thought of his son, furious and powerful, and very willful. It would be a pity to have to force him, break the boy's will, but there was no other way. He thought of having his son back, though, and it was reassuring. The demon inched closer and its lips pulled back in a smile.

"Your son?" The sarcasm was biting.

Valentine grinned crookedly, not really seeing the thing. "Indeed."


	4. Absolute Pandemonium

Absolute Pandemonium 

Chloe woke with a start, jumping to life out of her nightmares. She fingered the pendent strung round her neck, trying to jog her mind into common sense. There had been a table, a cold metal table, and doctors everywhere. Chloe had been fighting with them, screaming, trying to make them leave her alone. But they wouldn't. There were needles and machines, and liquid dripping everywhere.

_Poked and prodded and tortured,_ she thought.

She sat up and looked around the small room. In the dark, Chloe could have believed she was back at home, but she knew better. She knew the door was locked firmly, knew that the chip in her arm was sending a signal to the scientists at Edison Group headquarters, and even when she was miles away at Lyle House, they knew where she was.

Slowly, Chloe got up and padded around her room. She hated it, hated the lies that masked her imprisonment. There was no escaping this fate. She would be trapped in this life forever, always the subject to be prodded and poked. Her and the rest of Appendix C. They were all experiments. All test subjects.

"Derek?" Chloe said softly against the wall. "Derek, can you hear me?"

There was a long pause, and Chloe was about to turn away when a tap on the wall signaled Derek's presence. He was there, listening, his attention turned on her.

"I'm scared, Derek. I'm scared of the Edison Group. I'm scared of Lyle House. I'm scared of what I am, and what I'm going to become."

"We're going to Pandemonium?" Isabelle was sitting in the library, reclining in a chair with a book balanced on her knee. It was hard to concentrate on a book, so any excuse to leave was welcomed. "What's going on there, mom?"

Alec, who was skimming a textbook, and Jace, who was in a window seat with a book of music, all turned their attention to Maryse. She made sure to keep her eyes trained on Isabelle, because Alec was very perceptive of emotions, and she just couldn't dare to face Jace as she spelled out his doom. Max, who was asleep in a chair, stirred when his mother spoke and tried to shake himself awake.

"Demon activity had been reported there, and I want you three to check it out." Maryse saw Alec's hesitation and clapped her hands. "Come on, up, up!"

Jace, who wanted nothing more than to push bad memories from his thoughts, jumped to the ready, tossing the book aside. There was the familiar manic light in his eyes he always got when he was excited. Isabelle took a moment to decide and then stood as well, stretching catlike. Alec was the one who remained seated, his eyes traveling slowly to Max, who was staring wide-eyed at his mother. Their eyes met and Max shook his head no, and Alec thought for a minute. Would his parents really sell Jace out?

"If we have to go," sighed Alec, rising as well. He'd just keep a very close eye on Jace, which was no different from what he normally did.

The three teenagers filed out to the weapon's room, Maryse tailing them. Max raced after the small party, not knowing what to do. This was it. Jace was going to be attacked and captured by Valentine, and no one could do anything about it. Unless…unless he told them all what he'd heard. But if he did that, the family was destroyed. Max watched Jace's back and wanted to cry out.

Twenty minutes later, Isabelle, Alec, and Jace were at the door, getting ready to leave. Max, who hadn't had the nerve to tell the truth, stood on the staircase and watched them. Maryse and Robert came and hugged them each with a warning to stay safe. Jace looked ready to move, not at all worried. Max couldn't bear it though; he bolted down the steps and pelted into Jace, hugging him tightly.

"You'll be back, right?"

Jace ruffled his hair and backed up with a smile. "Yeah sure, we'll have a midnight snack when I'm back."

And with that, the three of them were gone and Max was wishing he'd said something. Maryse, sensing a tension in Max she'd never seen, reached out and pulled him closer to her.

"Max, what's wrong?"

"I'm worried about them," he said guardedly. "With Valentine out there…"

"They'll be fine, I promise."

Out on the street, Jace, Alec, and Isabelle sauntered toward the club. They weren't really aware they were being followed, but Jace's neck kept tingling. Night was setting in quickly, the lights flickering on and the shadows growing. And in the shadows something was moving. A form was slipping from shadow to shadow, eyes pinned on the golden boy he was tracking. It would have been so easy right then to simply dive out and pull him into the shadows. But, he had his companions with him, and then, he'd have to deal with them, and that would take a few minutes, and Valentine had ordered that no shadowhunters die, and…well, it was just worth it to wait.

Pandemonium was thumping out music as the shadowhunters slunk in. Under the flashing lights and pounding music, they separated to seek out the demon. Alec was trying to keep an eye on Jace, but he lost him in the thronging crowds. The darkness was perfect for the demon, who was trailing Jace with red eyes. He smiled and his fangs slid out. Jace slouched against a wall and scanned the room.

_So that's the angel boy? _wondered the demon, moving forward. _I'll make quick work of this boy._

It happened all too fast for anyone to stop. Jace, leaning in the shadows suddenly spotted a sinister figure which he marked at once as the demon. He glanced about and saw Isabelle dancing and Alec staring gloomily into a drink. He moved forward, tracking the stupid thing with a grin. The demon was actually leaving by the side door, right into the alley. How perfect. Jace loosed a dagger and waited until the demon was out the door before he followed.

There was perhaps a minute of perfect silence. Jace saw the brick wall of the building opposite him, saw the trash cans and sewers, and saw with a quick glance, the stars above. He breathed a deep breath and tightened his grip on the dagger. His eyes adjusted to the dark and he saw pair of something red glaring at him.

"What kinda brainless demon separates itself from a crowd-?"

The demon sprang forward, and Jace stumbled back in stark surprise. He blinked, confused, at what he was seeing, because it wasn't a demon, it was just _wrong. _It was a woman, tall and statuesque, with gleaming eyes that seemed to switch between red and brown. She saw Jace and smiled crookedly, enjoying his shock.

"Now I wouldn't know that, would I, Jace?" asked the woman, voice sharp and cold. She ran her eyes over his form, saw the blade in his hand, and locked in on it. "You might want to put that down, Jace; little boys shouldn't play with sharp objects. It's not safe."

"How could you!" bellowed Isabelle. "You're monsters, traitors. He was our _family_!"

Clary cringed at the words as she passed down the hall to the library. More shouts followed Isabelle's and a child's voice began to wail. Clary quickened her pace, suddenly anxious to see Jace.

"You don't understand," pleaded a voice. "We have no choice. If we hadn't agreed, Valentine would have destroyed us. As it is, we're just lucky the Clave doesn't know about this yet. We'll have to inform them in the morning, of course."

"No, mom!" And this time Clary marked the voice as Alec's. "We'll tell them the truth. You planned the whole thing with Valentine."

"If you reveal the truth and we're arrested, you and your siblings go to an orphanage," argued a man's voice. Clary eyes widened and she broke into a run for the library door. "It's the only way to keep the family together."

"You SOLD him to Valentine!" screeched Isabelle. "You SOLD Jace to Valentine so he'd leave you alone. Well, fine. You wanna be alone, you'll be alone. I'm leaving. I'm not staying in a house where my own parents would sacrifice a child cause they're afraid."

"Isabelle Lightwood!" And now Clary knew it was Robert who was talking. "You will do no such thing. If you try to leave, I _will_ lock you in your room."

"Go to hell!" she snarled back and Clary heard footsteps on the carpet floor. The door banged open and Isabelle came running out, tears streaming down her face, her hair and clothes in ruins. She saw Clary and gave a cry. "Clary. Oh my god, Clary."

"Jace…?" Clary couldn't comprehend what she'd heard. Was Jace gone? "What happened to my brother?"

"Clary…I…" Isabelle was searching for words, more tears streaming down her face. "He's gone! Jace is gone!"

"W-what?"

"We were tracking a demon to Pandemonium, and while Alec and I killed it, Jace went out back." Out of the library poured the rest the Lightwoods, Maryse in the lead, tears leaking out of her eyes. "We followed him, but when we got out there, his weapons were lying on the ground, and there was blood, and his cell phone with a missed call!"

"Someone…_took_ Jace?" Clary stared at Isabelle in confusion.

"We don't know, he's just gone!" Isabelle shrieked and covered her face. "It's my parents fault, they planned it with Valentine, they told us to go!"

Clary's shocked face roved to Maryse who was shaking, and Robert, who was gaping open-mouthed in horror. She clenched her fists together and prepared to leap at them. But Robert clapped a hand to his forehead and leaned against the wall in terror. Alec was white-faced, but when he saw his father, he blinked slowly and placed a hand on Isabelle's shoulder.

"How could you just give Jace-" Clary began, but Robert cut her off sharply.

"What do you mean, you killed the demon?" gasped Robert, staring wildly from Isabelle to Alec. "What do you mean?"

"I mean we _killed _it!" shrieked Isabelle, rounding on her father. "I personally drove the blade into its throat. When we realized Jace wasn't there, we went to look for him, didn't we Alec? That's when we found his things in the alley."

Clary was watching closely, the way Robert's eyes slowly found his wife's and their faces fell away, leaving a blank canvas before them all. Alec noted it too, and he placed his palms on Isabelle's shoulders, holding her down.

"But…that, that's not possible…" murmured Maryse, shaking her head. "He _said_…Valentine _said_…The demon was killed?"

"Mom," Alec said clearly, "what are you talking about?"

"Don't listen to her, Alec," spat Isabelle. "She's just trying to make us forgive her for selling Jace to Valentine."

Isabelle spun back on Clary, her eyes filled with tears. For once, Isabelle wanted nothing more than to reach out and hug Clary. Because they were sharing the same pain. Sharing the same betrayal.

"No, wait, Isabelle!" shouted Robert. "What your mother means is that Valentine told us a _demon_ was going to capture Jace, but if you killed the demon, who took Jace?"

A tense silence filled the hall, a silence when all the people present looked from face to face, confusion setting in. Alec covered his face, and Isabelle reached out and caught Clary's hand. Max was pressing himself against the wall, his mind on Jace, the best shadowhunter he'd ever know.

"Maybe Valentine himself…?" Clary murmured weakly. "Is there anyway we can track Jace, Alec? Could Magnus find him?"

"I've already called him," Alec confirmed. "He'll be here in a few minutes."

"Clary, Max, Alec, and me will wait for Magnus downstairs," Isabelle snapped at her mother's open mouth. "And when he gets here, we will conduct the search. You two don't belong in this." With that, Isabelle marched off, her back straight as an ironing board.

Down in the lobby, the children waited with baited breath. Clary just sat on the steps, thinking of Jace, thinking of his smile, his scowl, his laugh, his groan, his golden eyes, and demanding lips. She never thought someone could get the better of Jace. Who had the strength to overpower Jace? She twisted her hands and wished she's cornered Jace early. Wished she'd told him how she felt for him.

Isabelle just couldn't get those last minutes out of her head. The adrenalin of the hunt, the blade in her hand, the demon withering under her blows. It was that coursing power she was addicted to. But when she's looked up, Jace was gone. Then, the empty alley, the desperation in her search, the blades, the phone, and blood on the walls. How could she just let Jace wander off?

Spinning the phone desperately in his hands, Alec could think only of Jace wandering off. He should have been watching Jace. He was oldest. Alec was responsible for Jace. Shouldn't have left him. If anything happened to Jace…Alec would never forgive himself.

And little Max, he could just stare at the wall. Jace was the best shadowhunter ever. No one was faster, stronger, smarter. Jace was a warrior. Who could fight better than him? What were they doing to Jace right now? Why hadn't he spoken up before Jace left for the club?

The elevator binged open, and Magnus Bane sauntered out, his sharp eyes scanning the room. He scrunched his nose in distaste at Clary and Isabelle, but sympathy entered his cat eyes when he spotted his Alec. He drifted over slowly and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"So, the parents finally gave in?" Magnus thought a minute. "How could you really expect them to fight the seductions of Valentine? He wanted his son back, and he was going to get him."

"No," Clary said stiffly. "We don't think Valentine took Jace." She saw the faint narrowing of Magnus's eyes, but he just shrugged.

"The phone, Alec, I'll track Jace with it." Magnus stretched out a hand and caught the cell in his grip. He stomped off, muttering to the phone as he went.

There was about five minutes of waiting, of endless moments, where each of the children could only picture Jace as someone's prisoner. Jace hurt. Jace, if possible, scared. A different Jace, immature and terrorized. Then, Magnus reappeared, and his face was dark with not a trace of even the slightest humor.

"We have a serious problem," began Magnus. "A woman took Jace to some place called Lyle House-I have no clue what that is, by the way-she claims to have legal documents that make not only Jace, but Clary, property of the Edison group, Jace is even now being held under supervision, he's being tested and _experimented _on, and, here's the clincher, if Clary doesn't surrender herself in three days time, they're going to 'put Jace down'. Her exact words." Magnus paused, looking each of them in the eye. "I don't know who the Edison Group is, but it sounds like they've done some serious work on this. Any ideas?"

"How did you get all that information in one spell?" Isabelle asked breathlessly.

"I didn't," Magnus said simply, flipping Jace's phone open. "There's a message on the voicemail."

Chloe twisted the tablecloth in her hands as they discussed the Edison Group's latest move. In her peripheral view, Derek was staring shrewdly at her and thinking as quickly as he could of a way out. Tori and Simon were not far away, frowning. It just wasn't fair; it was like they could never get ahead in this fight.

"I don't understand," Chloe said, breaking the conversation. A few pairs of eyes met hers, all dark with annoyance or despair. "We were the only ones listed in appendix C. Who are Jace and Clary?"

"Two children," answered Derek, shaking his head tiredly. "Apparently their father signed legal guardianship of them over to the Edison Group if they helped him in his fight against what he called Downworlders. They were lost not long after birth. Now, it seems, the Edison Group is going to reclaim them."

Chloe curled her toes up. How was it possible that they had failed so horribly? Wasn't it enough to have her and he friends, did they have to have these two other children as well? "A brother and sister, the Edison's Group's prisoners."

Simon paced to the window and then turned about sharply. "No, not brother and sister. See, that the weird part about these two. Jace was raised by Clary's father, but he's not her brother. More like an adopted brother. Clary's mother ran off with her before she was born."

"What do they want with them, I wonder?" asked Derek slowly.

"The same the wanted with us, no doubt," answered Tori. "They're hunting those two down like dogs." She shuddered and had to press her hands firmly down on the table to stop the shaking.

"They already caught Jace, it seems," said Simon dismally, holding Jace's file in his hands. "Why else have this file all written out?"

"We should have known this was going to happen," Chloe said carefully. "And you said they already got Jace…?" Chloe glanced at Derek, because he must know, because he always had an answer, because he was Derek.

"Yes, cornered him." Derek stopped himself from glaring at Victoria. Chloe ducked her head. It just didn't make any sense. When did it end? When did the Edison Group stop ruining innocent lives? Stop hunting the free? She thought of Jace and Clary, probably two ordinary people who had no idea what was happening to them. Who were just simple kids living simple lives. She'd never wished this on anybody, and the idea that someone could be dragged into it was sickening.


	5. The Ultimatum

The Ultimatum 

Clary lurched off the steps to Magnus, her eyes locked on the cell phone. The only connection she had to Jace. Instinctively, her hands snatched it, and closed on air. Magnus flung back the phone, shooting dagger glares at her, but Isabelle and Alec had already moved forward, crowding around him.

"What do you mean, there's a message?" rasped Clary, practically hanging on his arms.

"I _mean_," Magnus snapped, "that a woman called Jace's phone a few minutes after he was captured and left quite a message. It details his location and the demands that are going to have to be met."

"Demands?" murmured Isabelle, glancing at Clary. "Who's making them?"

"Perhaps you should listen to the voicemail?" Magnus waved the phone annoyingly, but in his gaze was a veiled misery, like he felt pain for them. The fact that Magnus felt bad for them couldn't herald good news.

"Will you play it?" Clary asked softly, her mind whirring with terrors that Jace might even now be subjugated to.

"If you insist," sighed Magnus, and then he flicked the phone open and pushed the voicemail button. There was the usual voice letting them know they had missed a message, and then a desperate gasp of painful breath.

"Clary," the voice said, and they all recognized it at once as Jace's. She snatched the phone out of Magnus's hand and clung to it, shaking as Jace continued. "I don't have much time to explain this all to you. I'm not going to back to the Institute. Ever. I belong to the Edison Group, and I'll be returning to their compound shortly. You need to know Clary, you belong to the Edison Group too, and unless you don't arrive at 4426 Gaston Avenue I'll be…" Here, Jace paused, his breathing ragged and heavy, like he was struggling with a person, or maybe with his conscious. There was a billowy sound, and then Jace groaned, and Clary could just see him in her mind's eye, tortured and hopeless. "…No, no, Clary whatever you hear, whatever she says, don't worry about me. Don't give in-"

And then he screamed. Jace was screaming and Clary was, unknowingly, crying. She'd never heard Jace screaming, never thought he could. There was a thump and a lifeless moan, and then the phone crumpled on the cement. After a slight pause, the phone was shuffled and a female voice rang clear and businesslike on the other line.

"Clary, I know you're listening. My name is Mrs. Enright. I work for the Edison Group. We're an organization whose job, among other things, is to help the Downworlders through various means. You're a member of this group, and, as I'll explain later, you and Jace belong to us." Someone, Clary was sure it was Jace, moaned her name, but there was another heavy thump and a feminine laugh. "I'm going to kill Jace if you don't meet me at 4426 Gaston Avenue at one am. If you're even a minute late, _even a minute_, he's dead, and I'll personally deliver the body to you. Do you understand?"

"Leave him alone!" Clary cried at the cell.

Behind Enright's voice, the shadowhunters heard Jace's weak echo. "Clary…don't…"

"Now, now, Jace," Enright said. "It's time to be quiet. Three days, Clary, if you ever want to see Jace alive again."

The phone went dead.

"Who the hell-?"

"What does she-?"

"We need to help-"

"Jace-"

"Shut up!"

The clamor of voices that rained down was deafening. In the din and struggle, Magnus slithered his hand into Clary's and twisted the phone out. He snapped the cover shut and then tucked it in his pocket. Isabelle was waving her hands around, shrieking at the very idea of Jace in any danger. Alec was holding onto Max, who was stomping his feet and yelling his name at the top of his lungs.

"SHUT UP!" Magnus roared, and sparks shot out the end of his fingertips. Nothing dangerous, just flashy and silencing. A quiet fell on the assembled and Magnus closed his eyes for a moment. "We have a problem here."

"Valentine didn't take Jace," Isabelle said tonelessly. "He meant to, but someone beat him to it."

"You mean Enright," said Alec solemnly. He shuddered at her name, recalling the way Jace had been groaning. He'd been in pain, and Jace had a high threshold for pain. "Her and the Edison Group, whoever they are."

"And they're going to kill him!" piped up Max. He was staring up at the rest of the people, as if they didn't understand the danger Jace was in. "Enright said they were going to kill him."

"Unless I meet her," breathed Clary, and everyone turned to her, mouths shut. She glanced around, seeing them all for the first time. "You heard her, Enright said I had to go, or she'd kill Jace. She'd kill Jace and she'd…" Clary couldn't bring herself to finish, not with the image of Jace in her mind.

"Unless you meet Enright," echoed Isabelle.

"You can't go," said Magnus suddenly. Clary looked at him, incredulous; she'd never thought of Magnus as caring that much about her. Even Alec shot him a curious look. "Don't misunderstand me, dear. You can't go until we know what the Edison Group is. Once we know them better, you can decide if you want to risk it. You heard Jace, he said don't listen to her."

"He's my _brother_!" Clary hissed, hating the word. "I'm not going to let some crazy group torture him to death if I can stop it. We can look into this group, sure, but I've only got two more days, and after that, I'm going to meet her."

Magnus stared at her with hard eyes. "Sounds like a plan, Clary. We'll look into this, all of us." He flicked his glittery gaze about the room. "You can't stay here; come to my place. It'll be easy to convene quickly if we're all under the same roof. Plus, I think Valentine is gonna be in a bad mood when he finds out the people he hid his son from got a hold of him and are after his daughter."

"Valentine doesn't care about me," Clary cut in, shaking her head.

"You're his daughter. Hence the word, _his_. In Valentine's mind, you're a belonging of his, something he can own. Just like Jace. He didn't want those people taking him, but now that they've got him, I get a bad feeling about his reaction."

Max nodded, remembering the way Valentine had described Jace that night. "We get to live with the High Warlock?"

"Aw, isn't that cute? He knows I'm great," simpered Magnus, eyeing Max warmly. "Get some clothes, you're gonna be gone a while."

Clary fingered her cell phone, thinking of Luke. She wanted desperately to tell him, but the idea of letting Luke know she was planning to sacrifice herself to a crazed group of people who were threatening to kill her brother, didn't seem like a good idea. She shoved the phone deeper into her pockets and stood by the elevator entrance, fighting back tears and clamping down on her fear.

Chasing after the pixies was extremely hard work, Jace decided. He'd reach out a hand, snatch at the air, but his hands clamped on nothing. They'd dart past his eyes, smiling, sneering…taunting. He tried to raise his arms, to lift his hands, to even twitch a finger, but it was non-responsive. It reminded him distantly of a time Valentine had dislocated his shoulder, and Jace couldn't use his arm.

The pixies danced before his eyes, and he breathed in. They fractured suddenly, and a voice said his name. Jace strained forward, it hurt, he tried to answer back, but only a rasping sound came out, before his very eyes, the pixies turned to dust floating down under a bright surgical light.

"He's coming to, Dr. Davidoff. Should we drug him again?"

"No, no," answered a gruff male voice. "We've nothing to fear from him. There's no way he can overpower us. Let him wake up."

"Diane said…"

"Diane wants to kill the boy and slice him open to see his insides," snapped the man. "I want him to live. We're not going to terminate him unless we have no other option."

Jace's head was spinning. There was furious bright light all around him, and on corners of his vision, darkness. People were talking above him…talking about him. He concentrated on the voices, and he finally made sense of what they were saying. Maybe it was the drugs, maybe it was his years as a battle-hardened warrior, but Jace remained impassive.

_Kill me? _he thought mutely. _Slice me open and see my insides? Terminate…_

They couldn't do that, surely that wouldn't do that. He wasn't a threat to them, he didn't even know them. Jace tried to shake his head, but it hurt too much to move. He tried to lift his hands, but felt metal bands contract on them. He pressed his lips, testing his voice.

_No, don't do that…no, don't…no…_ "No," Jace protested, just barely whispering.

"He spoke!" cried a woman in shock. "He's awake."

"Let him!" ordered a man shortly. "I'll explain everything to the boy. Jace?" asked a calm voice. "Jace, I know you can hear me, my name is Dr. Davidoff. I work here, with the Edison Group, and I've been very worried about you and Clary, for a very long time."

Jace forced his eyes to open as far as they could. The pixie-dust-fairies floated down over the blurry face of an old man with grey hair and a hooked nose. He didn't look remotely familiar, and Jace blinked slowly, clearing his eyes.

"It's okay, don't speak. Just listen," Davidoff said easily, waving a hand. "Jace, you know that when you were a boy Valentine experimented on you, yes? The experiments he performed were developed from our own work, and lent to him, under the agreement that he would grant us legal custody over you, and that he would return you to us. The same can be said for his daughter, Clarissa.

"When Valentine took you into hiding, we made a desperate search for you. You're very important to us, Jace, very special. There's a group of you kids, all different, all special, and we've been trying to track you all down. You see, your gifts are a little…unstable, shall we say? We want to make sure that you can function in the mundane world without drawing attention to yourself. That, after all, is the goal of the Edison Group.

"So we had to round you up, perhaps, with a little force. But now you're here with us, safe and sound and under control." Davidoff smiled crookedly down at him, and Jace knew right then that the man was lying. Whatever he said, Jace wasn't safe. They were going to kill him if Clary didn't surrender herself. "Do you have any questions?"

As he'd explained the simple details of Jace's capture, Jace had been regaining the ability to speak, and, when he opened his mouth, his words came out in weak sharp rasp. "How long?"

"How long what, Jace?" Davidoff asked calmly.

"How long did it take you to make that shit up?" And then Jace thrashed about as much as he could, weak though he was and bound down. "Let me go!"

Davidoff reeled, and his eyes narrowed slightly. He wanted Jace to understand, but the boy was too wild, too consumed by his own power. It was going to take swift action on their part to save Jace from the changes worked in him. "Jace, you know I can't do that. You're a threat to other people, and, more importantly, a threat to yourself. You've just proved that. You're going to remain here for a while. At least until we round the rest of you up."

"If you go anywhere near my sister-"

"You know we have to."

"I'll kill you, I swear to god, I'll kill you."

Davidoff straightened up and left Jace roiling on the table. He joined a few of his follow scientists in the corner and they all stared at Jace, his body convulsing and cuss words streaming from his mouth. It was pity he was so angry, something that was going to have to be dealt with thoroughly. Davidoff turned to a woman in the shadows, frowning in disapproval as he joined her.

"I'll ask you, first, Lauren," he said quietly, so Jace couldn't here. "But you know you work for us, Lauren, and the boy needs to be moved."

"He's only a boy…" Lauren warbled off, watching Jace, wishing she could cut the metal cuffs on his wrist.

"Lauren, they won't let you see Chloe if you don't cooperate." Davidoff fiddled around on the table next to him. There was a metal cuff and a small hoop with a number label. "Juts do it now, Lauren, and then we'll take care of the rest."

"It's only a slight sedative. He'll still be awake, just unable to really fight…" Lauren heard Jace cry out a name. He deserved better. "Just make it fast, don't hurt him."

"He's only a boy, Lauren, and we're not monsters," assured Davidoff.

Jace, who'd been lashing out on the table had heard muffles and watched as a middle-aged woman entered the light he was in. She glanced up and down his body, taking in the state of him. When her eyes flicked up to his, he saw the regret there. Was she the one to terminate him? Put him swiftly out of his misery and protect the world from the monster he would surly be? He thought of Clary, of little, innocent Clary. If he was dead, she wouldn't have to sacrifice herself. She'd never have to go through this.

"Jace, my name is Lauren Fellows, I'm a doctor." His golden eyes widened. "You know doctors take an oath to do no harm, don't you?" She waited and Jace slowly nodded. "I'm not going to hurt you, Jace, I'm just going to give you a drug. Something to make you relax, and after that, you can go to your room. Alright? Everything will be just fine."

"No," he said through his teeth. "Leave-me-alone."

"I can't do that," Lauren said sadly, and she played with a needle. She leveled it with his arm and then drove the tip in. Jace watched as the liquid in it vanished into him and he felt the cold seep into his veins. "This is the only option we have right now for you, Jace. I just want you to know that this is for your own good."

"My own good?" Jace asked, his words slightly slurred. "That's what my father said before he'd whip me."

"Jace…" But his hearing was doing strange things, and Jace lost track of Lauren. Davidoff was back suddenly, and he was joined by some other doctor, a man with sharp gray blue eyes and straight black hair. He flicked his eyes over Jace like the boy was a specimen.

"What if he tries to take them off?" asked the young grey-eyed doctor.

"It'll hurt," answered Davidoff simply. We'll try to attach the cuff to his skin with either stitches or heat. The tracker…" Jace trained to hear, but the words floated away. "…he'll have to tear a hole."

"We'll keep an eye on him…"

"Get away from me," murmured Jace, locking eyes with Davidoff.

"Calm down Jace, we just have a few little procedures. If you don't move it'll be easier for you."

Jace would have answered, but Davidoff left and returned with what looked like a gun. Jace squirmed a little and Davidoff lowered the weapon so Jace could see the wicked needle in it. Not a gun, Jace was sure, but what was it? He eyed it shrewdly and then Davidoff fitted it around the cartilage of his ear.

"What're you-?"

Jace yelped, not in pain but surprise, as the needle sank through his ear. It was a piercing gun. Jace sank back down, relaxing in his confusion, but he watched warily as the young doctor produced a ring and handed it to Davidoff. He slipped through the hole in Jace's ear and clicked the ends together. Jace thought he was done, when Davidoff brought out a white hot something and touched it to the ends of the ring. Jace had the sick idea that Davidoff was welding the ring together so he couldn't remove it.

"That's half done, right there," said Davidoff cheerfully. "All we have to do now is label you."

Again, Jace had no time to consider what was being down to him, because the young doctor vanished and returned with a cuff, broken in two. He offered it to Davidoff who left with it and returned a minute later, the inside of the cuff glowing wickedly with white light.

Heat.

Jace knew what something hot could do to his hands. He remembered Valentine. He wriggled about, eyes wide and flaming. Davidoff merely shook his head and lifted Jace's wrist with his free hand, with the other, he fitted the cuff around his wrist. Jace gasped, but he didn't feel pain. Just comforting warmth, disguising the fact that he was being tagged and tracked and labeled. Jace found Davidoff's eyes and conveyed all the hate and longing he could.

"You're all done, Jace. Lauren will take you to your room."

Davidoff was gone and Jace was alone with Lauren. She helped him to his feet, explaining that she'd given him a short lasting painkiller, and by the time he was in his room, it would have worn off. Jace remembered walking down long corridors, countless doors, bright lights, and dark shadows. When Lauren opened a door, he saw a small bedroom. A bed, a desk, thick carpet, a window, and closet. Lauren helped Jace in and sat him on the bed. She checked his eyes and then held his chin in her hands.

"Jace, this place is impossible to escape from now. Especially for you. If you try, you'll only get hurt, and badly. Just stay here and wait until they take you out. You'll be with Clary soon, and we all know how much you love her. You two were meant to be with each other, Jace."

"No!" Jace's panic showed. Not just because he didn't want Clary here, but the idea that these people knew his sick secret, his desire for his _sister_, was too much. "I don't love Clary-"

"Jace, I understand," Lauren said gently. "You two were made for each other-_literally_. The doctors here began work on you and Clary so you could-"

"Lauren," said a sharp voice. Jace looked up and saw the woman, the woman who had dragged him here, kicking and screaming. "You let Jace rest, he's got a big day ahead of him." Lauren stood and joined the woman at the door. Jace felt his lips curl back in snarl. "Let's hope he lives to tell the tale."


	6. Listening to Reason

Listening to Reason 

"So, what exactly does my mom want this time?" Tori sighed, now staring down at the iced tea before her to take her eyes away from the accusations. They'd all been sitting at the table for almost three hours, just running over what the Edison Group was after. "Why go chasing Jace and Clary?"

"Well…think about it," Chloe said slowly. "What has the Edison Group always claimed to be after? They always say that they want to make life easier for supernaturals, and to do this, they experimented on other supernaturals. And, they also want to protect humans from their own creations."

"So what?" barked Tori, hating the idea that Chloe could think so clearly.

"Not now, Tori," said Simon softly. "Chloe may be on to something. What do you mean, Chloe?"

"Well, if they claim to protect mankind, there must be a bigger threat posed to humans than us, right?" Chloe smiled humorlessly, because the idea that she was a danger to other people was laughable. "Jace and Clary must be more dangerous than we are."

Derek jerked his head up, eyes glowing. "More dangerous than a necromancer, warlock, witch, and werewolf combined?"

"They must be," Chloe said calmly. "Why else chase them down so vigorously?"

"What exactly _are_ Jace and Clary?" Simon cut in, looking shrewdly at Derek, who had understood the complicated terms in the medical file they'd stolen. "What did Valentine do to them?"

"He altered their genes. Different in each child. Clary can make things, give power to things, create. That's all I know about the girl. The boy, Jace, he's a warrior. Valentine gave him strength and speed, agility and a fierce hunger for violence. He's the ultimate fighter.

"So, then…" Simon murmured to the group. "Then it makes perfect sense that the Edison Group will go after them. They think that Jace is gonna have a breakdown and start attacking random people, and Clary, god knows what they think she'll do. She's a suffering artist, a girl trapped in her own head. They'll want her."

"So they tracked down her brother." Chloe's statement was cold and simple. The truth was, she was just scared. If the Edison Group could corner and capture a boy who'd been trained to kill, what could they do to her?

"Not her brother," pressed Tori. "It's important to keep that in mind."

"Why?" said Derek with an unpleasant look on his face. "Why does it matter if they know they're related?"

"Derek…" Tori said with a sad look on her face, a frown creasing her lips. "You need to understand, all of us, that the Edison Group wants to study us, and-"

"So why does it matter if Jace and Clary aren't related?" demanded Chloe, who was thinking of Tori's mom and what the woman might want. "Why does it matter?"

"Because if they're related then they can't be-well, they can't be intimate-"

"_What_!" Chloe had stood from the table, her mouth hanging open. "Can't be intimate? They're brother and sister, how much closer can they possibly be? What do they want them to do, anyway?"

"What do you think?" snapped Tori, and her eyes were wide. She glanced at Simon and Derek and fell back slightly from them. "Why would it be important for Jace and Clary to be _close_ to each other? Come on, Chloe," Tori said. Chloe just stared, her mind refusing to comprehend. "What do boys and girls do when they're together?"

Chloe blinked, remembering, like another life, her school friends and the boys they chased. "Mess around…?"

"Yes," said Derek with disgust mounting his voice. "Mess around. That's what they want, isn't it? They want to make Jace and Clary…?"

Tori nodded stiltedly. "That's what I was getting at."

"Wait!" Chloe gasped, something in her mind clicking. "Are you saying that Jace and Clary are going to…well, that the Edison Groups wants them to…" Chloe blushed furiously at the idea. They couldn't, they surely wouldn't, want _that_. "…what you're saying is that the Edison Group wants to make Jace and Clary…sleep together?"

The silence at the table was deadening. Chloe looked from face to face, as if pleading with them to tell her otherwise. That couldn't be what the Edison Group was after. It was wrong. It was sick. They were kids. They were _all _kids!

"Yes," said Derek, not meeting the eyes of the people around the table. "With all the changes worked in them, it was important to know if they could still reproduce."

"So is that what's gonna happen to us?" demanded Chloe. "They're gonna make us sleep with each other?" Her eyes darted about the room.

"The feeling is _so_ mutual," snapped Tori. "They'd never force us to do those things. They just can't."

Chloe closed her eyes and thought of Lyle House. She thought of the rooms. Of the beds. Of the darkness that fell when they turned the lights off the shut the curtains. Would they shut the curtains and make her get in bed? Would she do it if they told her to?

"Is that what they're going to do to us?" Chloe said loudly as the telephone in the other room rang. "I couldn't bear it if that's the case."

Magnus threw open the door to his apartment and clapped his hands. Light burst into life and Clary squinted her eyes against the brightness. She was clinging onto her overnight bag, packed with a least a weeks worth of clothing. Clary stumbled in and took in the sight of a chic warlock's apartment without batting an eye. All she had her mind on was Jace, Jace a prisoner, Jace being tortured by an insane woman. Just Jace.

"Well, I've got one extra room, which you girls can share. Alec, Max we can set up some beds out here." Magnus marched in and glanced at his phone, a light blinking brightly on it. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving. I'll order some pizza." And with that, Magnus was gone.

"What are we gonna do!" moaned Isabelle, tossing her bags aside and falling down on the couch. "Those-those freaks took Jace."

"We can get him back," said Max severely. "At least Valentine didn't take him. We can fight our way to Jace."

Alec just stared at his brother, who had warned him about his parents. If only he'd believed Max, they'd have Jace right now. Slowly, his eyes roved over to Clary, who was seated on the arm of the couch, shaking and staring into space. How could she possibly feel that? What did she want?

"We haven't got any time," Clary said tonelessly. "They're gonna kill Jace tomorrow if I don't surrender soon. There's no other option is there?" She looked from face to face, searching for someone to agree, or maybe, someone to tell her no. "I need to go. I need to hand myself over so they don't kill Jace."

"No," Isabelle said stoutly. "Clary…how can you even think that?"

"How can I _not_?" snapped Clary. "I'm not going to let those freaks kill my brother. I'd rather be some-some lab rat with Jace, than a miserable girl without him. I mean, think

about it," Clary said slowly, "eventually it's going be the Edison Group, or Valentine. Right? One of them was going get me in the end."

"Don't speak like that…" murmured Alec, seeing her for the very first time. It was strange that he had never noticed how powerful Clary could be, how independent and strong when the situation called for it. "We can find a way to get him out. We just need to contact them."

"That's not possible," Clary said flatly.

"We're getting Jace back, aren't we?" Max asked faintly. He looked from face to face, beseeching them to answer. "I mean, this is Jace. He's our brother. He's always looked out for us, now we can look out for him. We need to get him back. Can't we?" For one so young, he was very serious.

Isabelle eyed her brother, wishing she could say something reassuring, wishing she could make Max understand Jace's predicament, wishing she could see Jace again… "Yeah, Max, we're gonna find a way to get Jace back."

Clary just couldn't see how though. The only solution she had in mind involved her giving herself up. A shiver raced through her and her stomach turned painfully. Clary's eyes darted to the bathroom, some distance away, and considered running for it. The woman's voice, Enright, made her sick. But just the idea of leaving Jace with her brought tears to Clary's eyes.

"Hey," Magnus called, streaming in and glancing once at Clary sharply, a light glowing in his eyes. "I think the pizza is here. Someone, get off your lazy ass and answer the door. I'll get us something to drink."

Alec rose and threw open the door to a young, pimply man with two pizzas. He scrounged around for money and paid him while the girls tried to console Max, who kept asking how they were going to get Jace back. When Alec put the pizzas down on the table before them, Magnus returned with five glasses, each labeled with a name, glowing like it was made of fireflies. Quietly, the pizza was doled out and the drinks passed around to their owners.

Magnus was the first to eat, seemingly unperturbed by the plight Jace was in. But always, always it seemed, his eyes would rove around and table, and then alight on Clary. He was watching her closely, staring her down, but never catching her gaze. The night grew and Clary ducked her head and shook with the loss she was going to suffer very soon.

The clock was ticking away madly, and Clary was desperate, trying to think of a way to escape them before it was too late. An hour, and no one touched her, two hours, and her body shook painfully, three hours, and she knew it was too late. When Clary dared to lift her head from her hands, she met a strange sight.

Isabelle was asleep on the couch, her mouth wide open. Alec was sitting up in his chair, his eyes closed and deep breathing echoing out of his throat. Max was on the floor, curled up in a tight ball fighting invisible foes. They were all asleep, all deep asleep. All except for Magnus. He was sitting opposite Clary, sipping his drink and watching her.

"Magnus!" Clary said at once, choking on her tears. "Isabelle and Alec and Max, they're-"

He held up a hand. "They're perfectly fine, Clary, I promise. Just asleep, deep asleep." He wasn't bothering to keep his voice down. On the contrary, he was loud and laughing. "Clary, Jace is your brother, and I understand the…_position_ your in. You don't want Jace dead, and I certainly know that Isabelle and especially Alec will be distraught. I don't want that. Clary, you want to save Jace's life?"

"Yes," she breathed, not daring to think what she hoped.

"I've drugged them." He indicated the Lightwoods. "You want to go and save Jace, I won't stop you, in fact, I'll do you one better. You can't get out of my apartment without disabling the charms protecting it. Jace's flying bike is on my roof. You go up there and it's yours. You can get to the meeting point in time if you leave now."

"Why are you doing this? You hate Jace." Clary glared a little, rising to her feet.

"Alec cares for him, and I know he'll never heal if Jace dies. You need to save him, Clary, because if you don't, no one will. And I don't hate him, I might even like him eventually, but if he's dead, I can't get to that. " Magnus gestured to the door, lifting a brow and smiling. "Are you gonna go?"

Clary stared for a moment, considering Magnus, then took off. She banged through the door and up to the roof, where the bike was waiting. She walked around the bike, thinking of Jace, how he'd flown expertly. She swallowed a lump in her throat and hopped on it. The machine rumbled and Clary kicked it into gear. Suddenly she was zooming across the roof and into the air. Zooming toward her doom, toward Enright, and toward Jace.


	7. New Accommodations

New Accommodations

Nurse Talbot walked into the kitchen, saw the children sitting at the table and shooed them into the game room. Her eyes roved over them dangerously. Now that the secret was out, she was allowed to hate them, and if they tried to disobey, it was a simple push of a button and those new cuffs on their wrists would offer a mild electric shock. She smiled.

"You all wait in here."

They waited until the nurse was gone, and Chloe glared after her. "They're going to get Clary, aren't they?" She looked at Derek, who could hear.

"Yeah…" His eyes widened in surprise. "Jace is here. He's in the house! They've been keeping him in the basement, and-and doing something to him." A low growl in his throat told them all it wasn't a good something.

Simon was up in flash, hand on the door. "We should have known. What have they done to him?"

Derek shook his head. "They're going to use him to make Clary come. Enright is taking him right now."

Tori glowered at the door. "Bitch."

They were all silent, waiting for Derek to pick up the rest of the conversation outside the door. Derek's face turned into a mask of hatred and he lurched at the door and then paused. They all watched and when Derek finally relaxed, their eyes turned sharp and waiting.

"So?" Tori pressed.

"I heard them fighting. Jace must have put up some fight because Enright was snarling and trying to curse him. I think Talbot gave him something, a drug. He was struggling, and then he just started to relax, and Enright said he wouldn't even know it when she…" His voice wavered off and his eyes drifted away.

"When she what?" Chloe asked softly.

Derek slowly met the eyes of Chloe, Simon, and Tori. "When she killed him."

_It's too late to go back, Clary, _she said to herself as she left the bike on the street side. Her heart was beating painfully fast, like she couldn't breathe enough. _Be calm. Jace needs you to be calm._

Jace did need her to be calm. He needed her to be a lot of things, and the most important was that she be in that abandoned warehouse right then. Time was almost up, and Jace's life was on the line. Her feet were moving without her knowing, carrying her quickly to the door left slightly ajar.

Clary pushed the door open, listening to the echoing screech of the metal in the wide, empty warehouse. She paused at the entrance and closed her eyes, picturing the nightmare things that could be lingering in there. Picturing the demons that were a part of her new world.

"Hello?" Her voice was weak and shaky. "Jace?"

Clary waited for any answer, but all she got was the resounding note of her own voice floating away. Jace…ace…ce…

_You're too late! _Clary screamed at herself, tears pricking at her eyes. _Enright killed him just like she said she would. He's dead!_

"Clary?"

She knew that voice, new the way it curled around her name like a soft caress. But there was something wrong with way it sounded, wounded almost. Clary swallowed her broken sobs and moved toward to the voice. Toward Jace.

"Jace! I'm here," Clary croaked. The warehouse was pitch black and, if possible, colder than outside. "Jace, please, just say my name one more time. One more time."

She tripped over a stray cord and went down hard on the cement floor. Hands stinging from the impact, Clary curled up and cradled her hands. "Clary!"

It was a watery rasp this time. Jace was in pain, and the panic mounting in Clary reached a horrible pinnacle. She clambered onto her feet and ran to the voice, ran as fast as she could without seeing a thing. When Clary tripped again, she knew she could stop.

The thing she'd fallen over was soft and warm. It was curled in a ball on the cement, issuing heavy breaths. Clary's hands searched over the dusty cement and eventually found soft fabric. Her fingers tightened on what had to be the collar of a shirt, and she felt a pulsing heat from the skin beneath it.

"Jace?" she whispered.

"Clary…_no_…" It was Jace, panting heavily in pain. "…_Go_…"

"I'm not leaving Jace." Clary sniffled and felt tears running down her face. He was alive, he was breathing, he was speaking to her. She crawled next to Jace and explored his body in the dark until she found his hair. Her fingers knotted in the curls. "I couldn't leave you."

"Please, you have to go before _she _comes," he begged.

"Enright?" Clary guessed at once. "I'm not afraid of her, Jace. I don't care what she does to me. I won't let her kill you."

"No, get away from here. I'm better off dead…I saw what they do…the laboratory…"

A shiver raced up Clary's spine at the idea of a laboratory. What waited for her once Enright came? Would she spend the rest of her life lying on a metal table, needles piercing her skin?

"I don't care, Jace." Clary wrapped her arms about his shoulders and clung on tightly. "I'm not afraid."

"How sweet," said the voice behind her, clearly feminine, clearly Enright. The lights in the warehouse came flickering on, illuminating the scene before her. "Look at you two, clinging onto each other for dear life. That seems appropriate."

Clary was holding onto Jace desperately. He was bound with rope at his hands and feet. There was a metal cuff on his wrist and a ring in his ear. She furrowed her brow and squeezed him. It'd only been three days. He'd only been gone for three days and Clary had almost completely broken down.

"It was good you decided to come. I didn't want to kill your Jace, but with both of you, it will make out experiments much easier." Enright eyed Clary sharply.

Clary found her voice. "What did you do to him?" she demanded. Jace looked at her with wide golden eyes and she saw how big the pupils were. "You drugged him!"

"Of course. He was having a tantrum and I don't stand for those. Now though, he seems a sweet docile boy." She gave him a small terrible smile. "I like you this way, Jace. It suits you."

"You bitch!" Clary snarled and lunged at her.

Mrs. Enright seemed to expect this, and she didn't have the time to deal with this little girl. She met Jace's eyes and offered him a wide happy smile. He screamed at her and tried to move, but he knew it wasn't enough. Clary froze midair and Mrs. Enright jabbed a needle into her arm.

"What are you doing?" shrieked Clary as she watched a silver liquid seep into her vein.

"You're out of commission for the night Clary." She ran a cold hand over Clary's cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Something like wood cleaner and an overpowering scent of daisies filled Jace's senses as he came to. He breathed in and the aroma came with the air purging his brain of any thoughts and bringing an uncomfortable twinge some place behind his eyes. Jace licked his lips and tasted sweet, sweet strawberries. Too sweet. With another breath, Jace forced his eyes open.

"Arg!" Jace groaned the moment light touched his eyes. He clamped his hands over his eyes and turned his face away from the light. "What the _hell_!" he snarled, and his voice echoed all over the room, reverberating in his sore head.

_Where am I? _Jace asked himself. _What happened to the Institute? _Jace tried to concentrate on the night before, but all he got was pain, daisies, and an uncomfortable feeling in his abdomen. _Well, idiot, let's start with opening your eyes._

Slowly this time, Jace opened his eyes and shaded them with his hands. He waited until he adjusted to the light and distant pounding in his skull lessened before lifting his hands and taking a look at his surroundings.

_Defiantly not the Institute. _

He was in a room. A simple room, four walls pained a faint yellow, one wood floor, and a window. Jace struggled up in what he realized was a bed. It was made of wood, and draped in two soft blankets. Right beside him was a bedside table with a reading lamp and a book. At the end of his bed was a wooden dresser. On the opposite wall, a closet and a desk.

_Defiantly not my room. _

Jace inhaled, and the smell surged in, making him gag. He clambered out of the bed, and struggled to the window, praying for fresh clean air. Jace threw it open and felt a cool breeze brush his face and rustle his hair. It didn't help to clear his mind, but the bittersweet taste in his mouth dissipated and the throbbing in his head lessened.

For a few minutes, Jace remained at the window, scouring his brain for any memory. None came, but he kept trying anyway. When Jace finally admitted he had no memory of the previous night, he sighed and turned away. The room felt like a cage, and he, Jace, a lion prowling about it.

"Hello?" he rasped out. He went to the door and checked the knob. It wouldn't turn. "Hello!"

Jace spun about and went to the closet. Some of them had crawl spaces, maybe he was in luck. He threw open the door and was greeted by a rack full of hung shirts. They were all brand new, all from expensive name brand makers, and none of them his. He pushed them aside and pressed his hand to the back of the closet. It was solid and wood. No crawl space there.

It was as Jace pulled his hand out he noticed the plastic band secured round his wrist. Jace stepped back into the light and saw minuscule writing around the band. He made out his name, Genesis II, and then another number.

The uncomfortable feeling in his abdomen expanded suddenly. He felt his heart beating frantically against his ribs. None of this made sense. He didn't know where he was. He didn't know how he'd gotten where he was. He didn't know what Genesis II meant. He didn't like being locked in a small room.

"Let me out!" he snarled, and banged on the door. "I said let me out!" There was a long silence, and then hasty murmurs. Jace paused and listened. He made out two male voices and two female voices. They were whispering. "I can hear you, you morons."

There was a whisper, the doorknob shot off the door, and the door swung open a little. Jace froze and waited, tensing his muscles and preparing to lunge into action. A hand shot in and flung the door wide.

"What a coincidence, we can hear you too, moron." Jace watched as a young man stepped over the threshold and glowered at him. Jace scrunched his nose and narrowed his eyes at what was unmistakably a werewolf.

"Wouldn't have expected better from a wolf," replied Jace caustically.

"Wouldn't have expected better from an ass." A girl poked her head into the room. Her dark eyes narrowed at the sight of Jace. "You know, I put myself at risk to break you out and this is how I get repaid? You were right, Derek, we should have left him in here."

"Tori," said a tired voice from behind. "He's just in shock. Hey, Jace, sorry about Tori, she's a bitch. And sorry about my brother, he's about as much an ass as you."

The boy who joined them was at least some part Asian, though his blond hair contradicted the idea. His round brown eyes surveyed Jace cautiously and then a smile crossed his face and he held out his hand.

"Simon-" the werewolf began.

"Derek, don't. If we're all gonna be stuck living together, we better all get along."

Jace shook Simon's hand, and the boy smiled. "Listen to Chloe, bro."

"Chloe?" Jace asked, waiting for the other girl.

With a shy smile, a young girl stepped into view and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "Hey, Jace. It's good you're awake, we've all been worried."

Jace's eyes roamed from face to face, measuring the trust in each. They seemed readily open, though the boy called Derek seemed highly skeptical. Again, the girl named Chloe stepped up and smiled.

"Listen, you should probably come with us, when the nurses see you out of your room, they're gonna freak." Chloe looked to Derek. "Can you fix the door?"

"Yeah, give me a few minutes." His green eyes raked Jace and then shifted to the door. "Take him to the game room and keep him there."

"Game room?" Jace repeated with a sneer. "I wasn't aware we had a place like that to stay. Sounds rather pleasant."

"Someone's coming!" Tori hissed, and they took off down the hall. Chloe snatched Jace's hand and pulled him down the hall, to a set of stairs, where they all tramped down. Jace's eyes snatched glances of the house he was now in. It was old, and made mostly of wood, painted off yellow. There were a number of other rooms, and many open windows. But it was hard to miss the blinking light of a camera.

Jace followed them into a comfy kitchen and then into a carpeted room with worn blue furniture. There was a blank television and a dark computer. Jace spotted a door and his legs lurched toward it instinctively. He could see freedom right through it.

"Don't, man," said Simon softly. "It's locked."

Jace shot him a quick arrogant look. "Locks don't faze me like you."

Simon shrugged. "Even if you get through the door, the fences are electrified, and that cuff on your arm is a tracking device. They're probably watching you right now. Measuring the beat of your heart, temperature, brain activity. You're not going anywhere without them knowing."

Jace considered his words and still prepared to lunge at the door. One good kick, and it'd be down, that was for sure. "Who's _them_?" he asked while he measured the distance he was from the door.

"Scientists mostly," yawned Tori from the couch. She'd turned the television on, but the only channel was public access. "A few doctors. They're _all_ insane."

"They're not the only ones," Jace muttered.

"Listen, Jace," Simon said, tugging him away from the door. "We haven't got time. Once the nurses come we have to eat lunch and then there's no point in trying to make sense of this." Jace's head ached and he ignored Simon. "The people they work, for the Edison Group, this organization that wanted to help the lives of Supernaturals-"

The word jumped out at Jace. "Edison Group?" The feeling in his abdomen moved to his stomach and he thought he was going to be sick. A memory, something of a cold table and a bright light surged up in his head.

"Yes," Chloe replied. She pushed him onto the couch. "They wanted to make Supernatural lives easier, help us blend into normal society, so they started experimenting on people, on us-"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jace snapped. He still had his mind on the memory, and was clawing desperately at it, because it was important. It had to be.

"Where is the _boy, _Derek?" shouted a woman. All the children looked up and tensed. Jace stopped thinking about the memory, and starting thinking about how he could best use the television remote as a weapon. "This door was locked, and he was inside."

"Damn it!" swore Simon. "Listen, we'll tell you more later tonight. Don't worry, me and Tori can unlock a door if needs must." He flopped down the couch next to him and flicked his hand. The remote landed in his hand and he turned the volume up. Chloe grabbed a book off the shelf and buried her nose in it. Tori stared at her nails and pretended to watch the birds outside the window.

"You wanna explain what the hell-"

"Jace," Chloe said, "don't eat the pill they give you. Hide it under your tongue. But don't take it!"

"Why?"

The door slammed open and an aged woman came in, dragging Derek by his hair. "So, this is where you absconded to, is it?" She eyed Jace angrily. "I warned those doctors we needed electronic locks on these doors. How'd you do it?"

Jace felt his mouth go rather dry and stared at her. His stomach was doing back flips and his frustration with himself mounted when he couldn't name the woman but knew he didn't like her. "I unlocked the door." For some reason, the idea of telling the truth caught in his throat.

"Liar," she hissed. She turned on the boy in her hands "I'm reporting you, Derek, and I know Jace didn't undo the lock. Who did it?"

Jace's eyes found Tori, who gulped and looked down. "I told you, it was me," Jace snapped. "I think I'm capable of pulling a doorknob out. Want to see me kick that door out?" He gestured to the screen door and stood.

The woman stared at him furiously. "Well, then, Jace, you're about to be reported. Congratulations. Derek, you stay here. If any one of you leaves this room, I'm locking you freaks in the basement." She tossed Derek into the room and stormed out.

"Bitch," Tori said after her. "Thanks, Jace. If I'd been reported my mom would have murdered me."

Derek rolled his shoulders and plopped down next to Chloe. "Talbot is really starting to piss me off."

"Who?" Jace recognized the name at once.

"That's Mrs. Talbot. One of the nurses." Derek glanced his way. "I'm assuming the drugs haven't worn off yet? You'll remember her soon enough. She's kinda the top dog here."

Jace racked his brain and his stomach was aching terrible. "So, what happens once we're reported?"

"No clue. But I'm guessing Davidoff will come down here and give us a talking to." Derek shrugged and watched the screen.

"I don't know who Davidoff is," Jace pointed out sharply. "At least, I think I don't." His whole body was shaking. Something was terribly, terribly wrong.

"Doctor," grunted Derek.

A silence descended over the group and Jace drifted over his memories. When he strained his mind he came up with a weak image. He saw Clary staring at him with wide eyes as a woman shoved a needle in her arm. He saw the same woman smiling viciously at him. He saw the stars above him, and he saw them cartwheel as he slipped into unconsciousness.

"Is there another person here? Another girl?" he asked softly.

"No," Simon said, giving him a quick look. "Why?"

Jace just shrugged. So Clary wasn't here. Was she with the Lightwoods? He hoped to God that was the case.

The door swung to and Nurse Talbot stuck her head in. "Lunch is ready; get in here."

Th group tromped in and Jace gaped at the table which was set with plates; it looked so ordinary. They all sat, leaving him a seat by Derek, and waited in silence as Talbot handed out sandwiches. She then came back with a bowl full of carrot sticks and celery, and also poured everyone a glass full of cranberry juice.

Jace had a turkey sandwich, stacked with lettuce, tomato, cheese, and mayo. He poked it and traced carrots around with celery. Next to him, Derek was staring at his sandwich and scratching at his arm dejectedly.

"Derek, Jace, I contacted Dr. Davidoff and he's coming to speak with you today." She glared at them and Jace felt his stomach clench. "Now, let's all be good little children and take our medicine."

One by one, Nurse Talbot handed out pills and watched as each of the children placed it in their mouth and swallowed. When she came to Jace, she took his chin firmly in her hand and made him look into her cold eyes. He was thinking how great it was that Clary wasn't there when she pinched her fingers tighter.

"You take this pill, Jace, and don't ask questions. You're already in enough trouble, don't make this worse on yourself." She handed him a small green pill and stared at him, hawk like, until he placed it in his mouth and swallowed.

Talbot left after that with an order for them all to eat. When she was gone, all the eyes at the table lifted to Jace who smirked. He opened his mouth and lifted his tongue. Tucked under his tongue, caught in the membrane, was the small green pill.

"You all owe me an explanation."


	8. School Day

School Day

"Stop it!" Clary shrieked. "Get away from me, you freak!" Clary dodged a fat needle and lunged from the corner she was trapped in. She ran right into the big metal table in the middle of the room and collapsed over it. A pair of powerful hands grabbed her by her shoulders and flipped her around.

"Calm down," growled the woman. She was young, in her late twenties. "If you don't calm down Mrs. Enright will be dealing with you. When Dr. Davidoff comes he'll want to speak with you and Jace, and if you're trying to claw his eyes out he'll just sedate you."

"Oh, like you're trying to do now?" Clary snarled, and she threw her body weight against the woman. "Get off me, and let me out of this place."

"Not until you decide to behave, or until you take some medicine. You have two choices." The woman glanced at the metal cuff on her wrist and thought about how easy it would be to make Clary behave. "What are you going to do?"

Clary rubbed her ear. It itched from where the tag had been pierced in. It made her feel like an animal, being tagged. They did that to cows on farms. She wasn't an animal to trade. "I want to see Jace."

"Jace is here. He's upstairs having lunch right now. If you decide to behave yourself I'll let you join him and the rest of the children upstairs. Is that what you want?" The nurse gave her a severe look and lessened her grip on Clary.

"Let me see Jace and I'll behave," Clary spat out. She felt like she was giving into some horrible agreement. Like selling her soul.

"Alright, now, I need to give you a short…briefing, if you want to call it that." She waited for Clary to nod assent. "Do you know where you are?"

Clary glanced around. There were brick walls everywhere and no natural light. No fresh air. The floor was cement. All around though, all over the walls, were medical tools. Needles and knives, and clamps and tools. She saw the huge metal table and the blaring medical light. "Edison Group compound?"

"Not quite. You're at Lyle House, which is a property owned by the Edison Group. It's a home for children like yourself. You'll be going to the Edison Group compound shortly. We need you to all adjust to each other, to being around each other, and then we'll acclimatize you to your new home."

"Acclimatize? Isn't that what you do with dogs?" Clary asked sarcastically.

"Do you know who Dr. Davidoff is?"

"Do I look like I know?" snapped Clary.

"He's the doctor who monitors you. He'll be here shortly to explain everything to you and Jace. Until he arrives, you'll be listening to Nurse Talbot. Understood?" She gave Clary a stern look and Clary was forced to nod in consent. Anything to see Jace.

"Can I see my brother now?"

"What?" the nurse asked with a frown.

"Can I see Jace?" Clary said slowly and loudly, as if the woman were a moron.

"Yes, of course. Just _behave._"

The nurse led Clary slowly from the basement, taking her time to assess the state the child was in. She didn't like the way the girls green eyes moved erratically. Or how swiftly the girl followed in her steps. With a warning glance Clary's way, the nurse pushed the door opened and gently tugged her out.

Clary's first glimpse of Lyle House was encouraging…at first. It was light and open, with windows giving a beautiful view onto the sloping lawns outside. The walls were all painted a pleasant yellow with white trimming. It smelled of garden flowers. Clary followed the nurse from the room into another yellow and white room, and into another, and into another. Clary began to get a feel for the entire house, and it wasn't as pleasant as before.

Everything seemed too cheerful and welcoming. The illusion she soon realized was that the world was just waiting beyond those windows for her to explore. The fact was, the world _was_ out there, but she could never reach it. So she would just have to settle for this make-believe world, this sunshine daisy yellow world, this prison world.

"Where's Jace?" she asked at once.

In answer, the nurse threw open one of the doors and pushed her in. Clary spun about to yell at the nurse, but the door swung to and the lock clicked. Clary stared at the door, simmering in annoyance, and flicked around to explore the room she was in.

"Clary!" It was Jace, and he was giving her a wide-eyed, somewhat confused look.

"Jace," Clary gasped, and then she ran at him. In a second, Clary had her arms locked tightly around Jace's neck and was pressing her face against his chest. She could hear his beating heart, and it seemed to calm her thoughts. "Oh, thank God! I thought-I thought you might have been…well, I thought that woman might have…"

Jace blinked and the memories came rushing back. Enright, dragging him out of the basement, the fight, her stabbing him in the neck with a needle. He was in a car, in the backseat, hands and feet tied. Enright was telling him how she was going to kill him when Clary failed to show. His stomach was roiling in pain and terror. The warehouse, the darkness, and Clary's voice. She was coming. He was going to live, and Clary was going to be with him. He begged her to run, to go. But she stayed. Enright drugged Clary and tied her up. She loaded him into the front seat of the car and bound him to the seat with magic. The whole ride back to Lyle House, she would tell him things, what they were going to do to him and Clary and the rest of subjects. She called them _freaks_. And Enright, petting his head like he was a pet dog.

"Clary you can't be here," Jace said against her hair. "You need to get out of here. Quickly, before Enright comes back. Just go out a window and-"

"Too late for that," said Derek slowly. "Jace, Clary's never getting away from the Edison Group. They have her tracked and tagged by now. One wrong move and she's on the ground, while that nice little band on her wrist sends electric shocks through her body. They're not gonna let her go."

Jace pressed Clary against him harder, and then glared at Derek. "I can't have her here, Derek."

"There's no way out, man," said Simon softly. "She's home now. We all are."

Clary pulled her face out of Jace's chest and took stock of the room she was in. It was a classroom. There were three rows of the desks, a blackboard, and even a shelf of books. One wall had a few windows, curtains thrown back. Seated in a semi-circle around her and Jace, were a group of kids. She glanced from face to face, not recognizing a single one.

There was a young girl, maybe fifteen. She was short and slim, and had a pretty face with strange eyes that changed color. Her hair fell in a fine curtain of red gold and fluttered at the slightest breeze. Clary noted how pale she was, and the way the shadows in the room seemed to draw to her. Isabelle would have called her a pixie, Clary was leaning toward something darker.

Next to her was the boy Jace had called Derek. He was tall and muscular with eyes as green as her own. He also seemed to have a face that was in perpetual scowl. Beside Derek was the boy named Simon, who was clearly Asian, with fair blond hair.

To Simon's right was another girl with short black hair. It just barely passed her ears, and it flared out in a mane of black all around her angular face. Clary saw her dark, playfully wicked eyes and wondered what Isabelle would have made of that girl.

"Who are you?" Clary asked. She squeezed closer to Jace when Derek glanced at her.

"We were about to explain that to Jace, so it's lucky you're here to hear it," said Simon with a small smile. "We are, after all, in a classroom."

"Yeah, what is this place?" Jace asked with a scowl.

"School room. We come here every day to _learn_," said Simon with a strange look. "Anyway, my name is Simon, and I'm a sorcerer. Derek is my brother, he's a werewolf." When Clary gave Derek and Simon each a questioning glance, Simon shrugged. "He's my _adoptive_ brother. Chloe is the small one, and she's a necromancer. And this is Tori, and she's a witch."

Clary and Jace both gave small sharp greetings and then turned back to Simon. Simon looked at Derek, who listened in silence for a moment, and then nodded his okay.

"We don't have much time for this, so I'm gonna do this as fast as I can." Simon met their eyes and then nodded, more to himself than anyone else. "So, we're all called Supernaturals, people who happen to have special gifts. All of us. There's a whole world, completely unknown to normal people."

"We call them Mundanes," cut in Jace.

"Right, well, there's this group of scientists called the Edison Group, who wanted to help Supernaturals. They wanted to make it easier for us to blend in with Mundane society, so they started this…project. It's called Genesis II. We're the test subjects."

"What the hell did they do to us?" demanded Clary, pulling away from Jace and glaring at Simon.

"They changed us. The scientists did something to our genes. They called it genetic modification. And these modifications changed out powers. They started to develop faster and stronger. And they're-well, they're hard to control." He looked from face to face dismally. "These powers we have are unstable and emotion-based. No matter what the doctors do, they can't fix us. And, if they can't fix us…they might kill us."

"But it's their fault!" Clary snarled, a sinking feeling in her stomach. "They did it to us."

"No they didn't," said Jace lifelessly. "We were never at the Edison Group compound. Enright told me."

"Your father," said Derek now. "He wanted to make stronger Shadowhunters, and he knew the Edison Group had the technology. He traded it to them. They gave him their research so he could work on you, and he signed you over to them in return."

"Valentine did this…" Jace murmured, hating his father more than ever. "Valentine knew!"

"Oh yes," said Tori, "you're dad knew. But hey, it's cool. Me and you, we both have asshole parents. Mrs. Enright is my mom."

Jace stared at Tori and wished he had the strength to hate her, but he'd watched her face contort in fear after she'd sprung him. Her words about her mom killing her if she ever found out came back to him. He knew Tori hated her mom as much as he hated his father.

"They brought us to this place, to keep an eye on us." Simon was speaking again. "They don't tell out parents. They drug us. They make us take lessons on what we are. They act like this is how life should be. They tell us to treat this place like home. They tell us this is our home. We can never leave." He gave them a helpless look. "Davidoff, he's one of the doctors who works on us, he said once we were well acquainted with each other, they're gonna take us to Edison Group headquarters."

"We can never leave?" Jace pressed.

"We're too dangerous to be in normal society. One moment we might be acting normal, maybe buying a book or something, and then something triggers it, and we freak out. We can't be trusted in the real world. We belong in a laboratory."

"You most of all, Jace," said Chloe sadly. Jace turned to stare at her and she looked out the window, hungering for the fresh air. "Your father made you to be a warrior. What happens when your brain finally cracks under the pressure of your own power? You'll lose it, go insane, start killing people. That's what Royce did. They can't afford to have you in public when it happens."

Jace bit his lip to stop it from shaking. He never thought he'd be scared, truly scared, of something. And now he was terrified of himself. He heard the truth in Chloe's words about himself. He knew he had that terrible potential in him.

"Who's Royce?" Jace said harshly, catching a reflection of himself in the window.

"He was part of Genesis I. Years ago. They experimented on him and his brother, and-and-" Chloe shuddered and met his eyes with a measure of force. "He went mad. He murdered his little brother. He smashed his skull in with a dumbbell. He couldn't take the power that was in him…And it's gonna happen to us! He said so. We'd all be consumed by the power slowly but surely until all that was left was a monster…we're monsters…"

"Chloe, stop it," Derek said sternly.

"They tried this before?" shrieked Clary. "They knew it wouldn't work but they did it anyway?"

"They manipulated the data, made it look like they fixed the problems," said Derek thoughtlessly. "We're the second generation of subjects."

"That's why they keep us locked up? Because they know what we'll do?" Clary whispered.

"Yes," said Simon with a frown. "We're a bunch of misfit kids, who need to be kept drugged to control the powers they gave us." Derek's head flicked to the door. "Don't trust them. _Any _of them. None of the doctors, especially."

Clary and Jace nodded and looked at Derek. "What is it?"

"Our teacher is coming," Derek hissed, and he waved them all to the desks. "It'll be Davidoff today. He wants to speak with Jace and me anyway."

Jace pulled Clary into a desk next to him. "What will they do with us once we're rehabilitated?"

"If we're rehabilitated? They'll keep us locked up. We're too valuable a type of specimen to let go," Derek growled.

"Shh!" hissed Tori, dropping into her seat. "Davidoff!"

The lock clicked and door open as an old man came shuffling in. He saw them all in their seats, spotted Jace and Clary, and smiled at Jace. Clary was reminded very much of a vulture, and when his eyes turned on her he waved a polite hello.

"Hello, children," Davidoff wheezed. "I see Jace and Clary are with us today. Excellent. You two should come up and greet the class." He waved them to the front; when they gaped at him, and snapped his fingers. "Hurry up."

Slightly dazed, Clary and Jace stood before the four other members of their class and waved hello. "My name is Clary, and this is my brother Jace-"

"Now, now, now," chimed in Davidoff. "No point in keeping up that ridiculous charade."

"Excuse me-"

"Clary you and Jace aren't brother and sister," he clarified with a simple shrug. "Now, continue."

Clary and Jace stared at each other, eyes wide and faces in utter shock. "I-I-" Clary couldn't make words come out of her mouth. "I like to draw," she finished faintly.

"Excellent, yes, excellent. Now, you may go, Jace." He saw Jace's golden eyes clouded over. "Quickly, we have a class to begin."

"I can play the piano," said Jace simply. He grabbed Clary's arm and pulled her to the two empty seats in the room.

"Yes, very well," said Davidoff, and then he paced before the class. "Today, children, you'll be furthering your creative arts skills. You'll be here for an hour and a half. Then, we'll send out for recess in the backyard. You'll come back here for a half hour lecture, and then class is over. At the end of the lessons today I'll expect to see your work."

Davidoff watched as everyone but Clary took out a notebook. "You may begin."

Jace cleared his throat and tapped Derek's desk. "Creative arts skills? Is he asking me to write about my powers or something?"

Derek gave a sour grin. "Nope. Just wants you to be creative. Write a short story. Keep a journal. You could compose a song. They don't care, just a time for you to vent your…_aggressive tendencies._"

Jace rolled his eyes and relayed the message to Clary, who didn't even have a notebook, and then stared at his book. The one that had been waiting on his bedside table. The one they knew he'd need. They'd planned every moment of his life from the second he'd set foot in the house.

Jace picked up his pencil and carefully began to write. It was a letter. Not a cry for help. It was far too late for that. Just a letter to let the Lightwoods know he was alive. To let his family know he wasn't going to be killed. He just wanted the people who loved him to know he was still thinking of them, and know he would always be thinking about them and the home he once had.


	9. Getting the Picture

Getting the Picture

Isabelle was sitting at the window, clutching Max to her, and cooing in his ear. She watched the cars on the street below, and the Mundanes who had no clue what was going on. Her gazed drifted up, to the skyline painted passion red and explosive pink, and she glimpsed a few early stars dotting the sky. It wasn't as beautiful as the sunset in Idris, but, she thought idly, Idris wasn't her home anymore. It couldn't be.

Max tugged her hair and she tore her eyes away from the heavens. "Izzy, when will see mom and dad again?"

Isabelle set her lips in a hard line and rubbed his back. "I don't know. It's not even safe to go home right now. Valentine's minions are roaming the streets for any stray Shadowhunters, and if they find us they'll take us to him. And I trust you don't want to meet Valentine?"

Max thought back to the illusion he had seen of the cold man called Valentine. Thought of how he'd so callously dismissed Jace. No, Max didn't want to meat Valentine. "Why would he want us anyway?"

"Because we know what happened to Jace and Clary," she said softly. "He'll want his children back, and he knows that we have information about them."

"But we don't know where Jace and Clary are," Max pointed out at once.

"We know who they're with, though. And I'm sure if Valentine had that information he'd hunt them down." Isabelle thought of Jace, and, then vaguely, Clary; she didn't want Valentine to have his hands on them.

"Well, what if they're better off with Valentine than the Edison Group?" Max twisted to look directly into Isabelle's eyes.

Isabelle's eyes clouded over in disbelief-at first. Was it possible that there was something worse than Valentine? "I don't know."

"Magnus, how could you just let her leave-?"

"Alec!"

Isabelle and Max turned, and there was Magnus and Alec, arguing behind them. The two had been arguing for the best of three days, ever since they'd woken and found Clary gone. Isabelle didn't know whether she cared all that much to argue; she couldn't change the fact that Clary had gone to save Jace's life. They had no idea where the two were now. Max bit his lips and frowned up at the two.

"Would you rather Jace be dead, cause that's where he'd be right now. _Dead_, Alec!" Magnus threw his hands up in frustration. "Clary was doing what was right. She saved her brother's life; you've got no right to stop her."

"You had no right to drug us!" Alec yelled back.

"You were in my apartment, I had every right," shrugged Magnus.

Alec slammed his hand on the coffee table. "Fine, we'll leave your apartment!"

"Alec, no." Isabelle stood and clutched her little brother to her. "Valentine his hunting down shadowhunters and we're on the top of his Most Wanted list. We can't go back to the Institute because mom and dad are there." She eyed Alec fiercely. "They're working for Valentine now."

Alec swallowed his protests and stared back, furious more with the situation than any person. "They'd take us back, though."

"I don't want to go back to them," Max said at once. "They were gonna give Jace to Valentine. They'd do it to us, too, if Valentine asked."

"They would not," Alec said softly, but he knew he was wrong. He couldn't trust his parents after what they'd done.

"You're more than welcome to stay here," said Magnus simply. "Valentine's servants can't reach you here, though this may be the only place that's true. In all honesty," Magnus admitted, "I think it might be best for us to leave the city until this is all over."

"What about Jace and Clary?" demanded Isabelle. "We don't know where they are, and it's our job to find them."

"Hence leaving the city," Magnus replied.

"Where do we go?" Alec asked softly. He felt like his whole life was snowballing out of control and there was nothing to do to stop it.

"I've got a house out in the country." Magnus looked at though this was the most natural thing ever, and when Isabelle raised an eyebrow, he smiled. "I like my privacy as much as you shadowhunters."

"Well, that sounds better than be trapped in this apartment for-"

"Magnus, you've got mail!" yelped Max, rushing to the door. "Look, it's Mundie mail. Why would you be getting Mundie mail?"

Magnus, Isabelle and Alec all stared and thought quickly to themselves what this meant. Had Valentine sent them a message, just so he could track it? Had the Lightwoods been desperate enough to send a letter? Isabelle caught Max's hand and held him to her.

"Well, don't just stand there Alec, grab it for me." Magnus waved an imperious hand at him, and Alec approached the letter cautiously. When he plucked it up, he gagged on his words and shook it at Isabelle.

"It's to us," he said softly. "There's no return address, just the names."

"Give it to me," ordered Magnus at once, snatching the letter and blowing on it lightly. He waited, inspecting the letter like he thought it might turn into a frog. After a few minutes. "You can open it. There's no spells on it."

Alec tore the envelope and tore the paper out. He flicked his eyes over it and stared at his sister. "It's from Jace. He's written a letter to us."

"What?" Magnus demanded.

"Jace!" cried Max shrilly.

"Read it!" ordered Isabelle.

Alec cleared his throat loudly and waited for them all to fall silent. "Alright, alright. Dear Alec, Isabelle, and Max…

Please, **do not** try to trace this letter, there are warlocks here, and they've already gone through the letter and spelled it. If you try to trace it, you'll just be led on some wild chase. Also, do not try to send a reply to this letter; even if the nurses here receive it they won't let me have it. The first step to a successful rehabilitation is cutting ties to my past; at least, that's what I've been told. Don't come after me or Clary, this is where we belong. It's best for everyone if we're kept here, away from innocent people we could hurt. I'll ask you not to worry about me or Clary, because whatever lengths the doctors here go to, it's for our own good-"

"That's doesn't sound like Jace to me!" Max said at once.

"You heard what he wrote," said Isabelle sharply. "There are warlocks there who read the letter over. And, whoever is holding him hostage more then likely read the letter over to make sure he didn't give anything away." She squeezed Max's hand anxiously. "Keep reading Alec.'

"-You have a right to know why Clary and I were taken, and, even if I hate to admit why, it will make all of this easier.

The Edison Group is made of scientists and doctors whose goal is to make life for Downworlders hiding in the Mundane world easier. To help Downworlders adjust, they began a set of experiments that tested the effects of genetic modification. These modifications had side-effects that were unlooked for, and made the subjects of the tests dangerous to the public at large. There's a group of us here who were all part of the tests, and the Edison Group is just doing the responsible thing and taking us out of the public eye. For that reason, Clary and I are going to stay here."

"_What_?" snarled Isabelle, ripping the letter out of Alec's hand and reading the line again. "He can't mean that! Jace is not staying in some laboratory so they can poke him and study him."

"Isabelle," said Magnus quickly. "You heard him. These scientists modified his genes. It means he could be incredibly unstable. He's a danger to society."

"Jace is not!" screamed Max.

"Give me the letter," said Alec above the argument. "There's more."

"Don't worry about us. The Edison Group is treating us well. We're staying a beautiful home called Lyle House, with the other four subjects. There's a warlock named Simon, a werewolf named Derek, a witch named Tori, and a necromancer named Chloe. No one is locking us in cages or shocking us with electricity, as I'm sure Isabelle is thinking right now. It's almost like living at the Institute; we all have breakfast together, we have lessons, recess, lunch, lessons, and then free time.

"There are strict rules here, though, and punishments to follow. So, please, don't try to contact us, because it may result in punishment for Clary or me. There are locks everywhere, including our bedrooms and windows, so we can't leave once the lights go out. We have to take our medication, and we have to respect the nurses and doctors who treat us.

"I'll try to contact you as often as I can, though I was warned that these letters are a privilege and can be revoked at any time. I haven't heard any news about Valentine, though I've been told that he will never be able to reach Clary or me, so don't worry about us. Be careful of him because I know he'll be looking for you. Maybe you should consider staying with Magnus; I'm sure he has a way to hide you.

"Since I was in class when I wrote this letter, it became a joint project between me and Clary. She was allowed to take a picture and send it along. Unless the nurses decided it was inappropriate, it should be enclosed.

"I'll write as soon as possible. Be safe. Yours, Jace."

"What the hell!" Isabelle snarled. "Is that all Jace has to say? No desperate cries for help? No horror stories about the abuse? He doesn't even want us to find him?"

"He can't, Isabelle," said Alec. "These people are keeping an eye on him, and do you really think they'd let him send a letter asking for help? At least he's alive."

"Where's the picture?" asked Magnus curiously. "Maybe the warlocks didn't spell the picture."

Alec reached into the envelope with two fingers and pulled out a photograph. He placed it on the table and the four of them gathered around to get a better look at the collection of Downworlders who had been genetically altered.

It was a simple photo, just the six of the children seated on a sloping grassy lawn, trees swaying in the background. There were Jace and Clary, seated next to each other, wearing new clothes that neither of them would certainly ever have bought. Beside Jace was a young man with blond hair and an angular face. Next to him was a girl with short, spiky black hair who was giving the camera a provocative glance. On Clary's left was a short girl with reddish hair and an uncertain look. And next to her was a burly copper, skinned boy with a head full of thick black hair.

They all looked pleasant, maybe even happy, but Isabelle knew by the way their faces were positioned that they were faking their smiles. It was in their eyes too, that uncertain terror, that if they did something wrong they might be punished. There were shadows over their faces, shadows and lies.

"You know Jace lied about it all," Isabelle said sharply. "Look at these kids. They're terrified."

"Well, what did you expect him to do?" snapped Alec.

"There's writing on the back," Magnus hummed before the two could argue.

"What?" Alec murmured, and flipped the picture over. "There is, but it's so small…"

"Here, I'll read it," Isabelle volunteered.

"This is the best way to let you know what's going on without the doctors knowing, and I don't have much time. Lyle House is a prison for all of us. There's a makeshift laboratory in the basement, and they make us wear a tracking cuff on our wrist. We sleep in little rooms with the doors locked, and they completely control our lives. We can't pick what clothes we wear, when we eat, what we learn. The nurses force us to take medication, and if we try to refuse, they force-feed us. And they hinted that once we've all adjusted to each other, the doctors are going to move us to the Edison Group compound. If you've got any plans for breaking us out, sooner is better than later.

"I don't know where we are, and this picture can't be traced either. Anything in the envelope has been spelled. If you can't find us, I understand, and what I said in the letter was true, too. Clary and I have had our genes altered, and everyone here, myself included, is a danger to society, but these doctors decided if they can't cure us through therapy and medication, they will kill us.

"Don't put yourself in danger to find us, please. I just wanted you to know what's happened."

"P.S. Clary and I aren't brother and sister."

Isabelle and Alec stared at each other in horror, the picture in Isabelle's hand shaking. Jace's words rushed through them. Jace was never scared, he never asked for help. But here he was, practically begging them to come after him. If Jace was that shaken, whatever was being done at Lyle House was terrible. The brother and sister knew then that they couldn't abandon Jace and Clary to the Edison Group. They were all bound up together, in blood and in childhood, and there seemed nothing stronger at that moment than the bonds made between children.

"There's a laboratory in the basement?" said Isabelle at last. "Why do they have to have a laboratory in the basement?"

"To experiment on their subjects," muttered Alec.

"They wouldn't do that to Jace!" cried Max at once. He grabbed a hank of Alec's shirt and tugged furiously. "They can't do it. He'll fight them off, he'll kill them."

Alec picked Max up and let him rest against him. "They've got Clary, Max, and Jace will go out of his way to assure she's safe."

"Speaking of Clary," Magnus began faintly. "What do you make of them not being related?"

"I think it means that Jace is even more helpless now," spit out Isabelle. "He was willing in jump in the line of fire to save Clary when he thought she was his sister, and now, that he can finally have her the way he wants, he'll do anything to keep her safe."

"We need to get them out of there," Alec said with determination. "Magnus, what can we do? Is there anyway we might be able to track them down?"

His cat eyes flickered away and he thought for a moment. "We go to the ransom location. If I can't trace Jace of Clary, I could possibly track Enright."

"She works for the Edison Group, though," Isabelle cut in. "She must have protective spells."

"It's worth a shot though," Alec shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe there'll be something there that might give us a hint in which direction to go."

Max watched the three adults speak and closed his eyes. Jace was afraid of nothing, but he was asking for help. If Jace was asking for help, if _Jace_ was, then there was something terribly wrong. The world was wrong if Jace needed help.

"Are going to get Jace back?" Max asked in the middle of the conversation. "We are, aren't we?"

Isabelle and Alec glanced to Magnus, who nodded, and Alec hefted Max up to look in his eye. "Yes, we'll get Jace back. Him and Clary."


	10. Lyle House Weekends

Lyle House Weekends

"Everyone, lessons are done for today," Davidoff said briskly, after a finishing glance at Jace's letter to his family. "You are all dismissed for evening chores and enjoyment. Derek, Jace, will you please stay after for a few minutes?"

Clary, anxious to be alone with Jace, now that they both knew the truth of their blood, gave him a longing glance. He met her gaze and nodded stiffly. He would be with her once Davidoff had had his way. Suddenly Simon stood and caught Clary's arm with a fake smile.

"You want to help me peel some carrots?" He tugged her forcefully away from Jace, who nodded at him in thanks. "Jace says you're an artist, so am I. Want to see some of my work?"

Jace and Derek both watched the two leave, and a sigh of relief left both of them. Once the room was empty, Davidoff went and closed the door and pointed them to the two desks closest to the front of the room. The boys took their seat and waited, tense.

"I heard you two were a little…unruly today." He gave them each a severe glance. "That's really not acceptable at Lyle House. Jace, your door was locked for a reason, and we had no intention of you leaving without a few words from me."

"I had no intention of hearing what you had to say, honestly," Jace shot back with a sneer.

"I was going to bring you and Clary together and explain about your relationship, or, lack thereof. Since you completely botched that, I had no choice but to tell you in class today." Davidoff then turned his eyes on Derek. "Now, Derek, you know better. I thought you might have cared more for Simon and Chloe than this."

"Simon and Chloe have nothing to do with this," Derek ground out.

"But they could," reminded Davidoff. "I want both of you to listen to this. You're here because you need to learn to control yourselves, and this is not showing me any progress. And progress is important in the Edison Group. If one of our subjects doesn't show progress we may be forced to remove the subject. Do you understand?" Jace and Derek both swallowed any words they might have had. "Jace, do you know what that cuff on your wrist is there for?"

"To track me?" guessed Jace with an eye roll.

"That's one thing, but there is another." He reached into his pocket and drew out a small mechanical tool. "One button pushed and you could be roiling on the ground in pain. Electrical, you see."

"So you're going to torture me? That's _extremely_ nonviolent for a scientist." Jace smirked.

Davidoff glowered at Jace and then gestured for them both to follow him. "I will do whatever I have to to ensure that the subjects of Genesis II are rehabilitated, and, yes, sometimes force will have to be used. But, in reality, it is you who decides when there will be punishment and when there will be reward."

"Understood," Derek growled for both of them. "May we go?"

"Not quite yet," Davidoff said, raising his finger in protest. "I would like to show you two something, something I think that will impress upon both of you the importance of good manners and respect toward the rules." He rose and crossed the room to the door. "If you two would follow?"

Jace and Derek stood stiffly and gathered their notebook and writing utensils. Davidoff seemed pleased to see that they remembered that and then waved for them to follow. They left the classroom and watched as Davidoff locked it, then padded softly down the hall. In the distance, Derek heard Simon speaking in a hushed voice to Clary, though what they were saying was lost to him. And he heard Chloe clearly, laughing as she and Tori struggled with the mop that had to be hauled out of the closet.

Davidoff led the boys to the locked door that entered the attic. He didn't draw a key as they expected, but instead whispered a few words in what Jace was sure was Greek of an ancient variety. The lock on the door sprung free and the door creaked as it opened, protest of too many weeks kept closed.

Very suddenly, Jace noticed that his skin was covered in goose bumps and his throat was very dry; he swallowed and cracked his fingers, hoping to nonchalantly rub his arms. Davidoff didn't seem to be paying much attention to the boy, and he began to mount the wooden steps. Derek glanced at Jace, who arranged his face into an impassive mask, and then walked past him, up the steps.

It was dark in the attic, and cold, like the windows were left open for the elements. Jace's stomach started to ache again, and he wished more than anything that he had a blade in his hand, preferably one that could pierce the half-demon and end his miserable existence. Derek was itching his arm and glowering in his usual way, and when Davidoff threw the switch, both and boys flinched at the sudden glow.

There were boxes everywhere, and a few stray windows. Everything else was dust and cold. Jace regretted almost at once not wearing shoes as the chill wood met his foot. With and experimental step, Derek began to pad silently across the floor, exploring what he expected to be a huge secret. Why have the door spelled if not to hide something. Jace joined him after a moment, and after exploration turned up nothing but boxes, dust, and wasted space, the two turned back to Davidoff, who was smiling pleasantly.

"This way, my boys," he said, and began to walk to the left corner of the attic, cast in shadows. "This is what I want you to see."

Derek and Jace trailed the old man, and paused when they saw what he had stopped by. Derek felt this had to be some message to him, because of course it applied to his wolf self. He grit his teeth and wondered if it were possible to kill Davidoff when he was still in human form. And Jace, who took immediate offense, felt his face go hot as a flush crept across his cheekbones. His fingers twitched, and if he'd still been armed, he would have already drawn a blade.

"This is what I wanted to show you," Davidoff said, coming up behind the two and taking a strong grip on their hair. "Standards here have become far too lax. More than I feared. If you break a rule, you're sent to your room, or made to do chores, or forbidden from movie night. It's not enough for creatures such as yourselves. You need to see real punishment, and have real consequences." He shook the boys by their hair. "You two have used your chance, and we don't offer more than one here. The next time either of you misbehaves, you'll be grounded, and that means I'll bring you up here, not feed you or water you, and not offer you any comfort. I will not accept this form of disrespect from either of you."

"So, the laboratory in the basement wasn't enough entertainment? You needed a petting zoo, too?" Jace rasped, still shaking with rage.

"Jace, what did I just say about chances?" Davidoff hissed, and he twisted Jace's hair until he gasped. "Let the others know what their punishment could be for misbehavior at Lyle House, will you?"

Jace scowled up at Davidoff, who had his hair in a tight grip, and tried to stare into his cold eyes. "I'm not a messenger."

Davidoff turned slowly to his other hand and he released Derek. "Go downstairs, Derek, and do your chores. Not a word to the others."

Derek took three steps back in quick succession, but then paused and gave Jace a long look. He'd only known the boy for a few days, but that didn't really make a difference now. He and Jace, and all others for that matter, were in the same situation now. Jace was as much his brother as Simon was, and deserved just as much loyalty and protection. He drew a step closer, challenging Davidoff's order.

"What are you gonna do with Jace?"

"Derek, go," Jace spit out, grinding his teeth. "Get out of here."

Derek wanted to turn away, he wanted to hurry off to Simon and Chloe. He saw it in his mind's eye, turning his back on Jace, toppling down the stairs, finding Chloe and pressing her against him, never letting her go, never seeing her locked up. He wanted it _so _bad, but here was Jace, here was a member of his family as much as Chloe.

"Let Jace come with me," he said sternly.

"No," Jace rasped, "Derek, get the hell outta here."

"Listen to him, Derek. Go." Davidoff pointed to the door and then jerked Jace's hair so roughly he stumbled back and fell to his knees. "Go downstairs _now_, Derek."

Derek caught Jace's golden eyes with his own green, and saw pain and humiliation flit past each other. Jace didn't want him there to watch him be degraded; he wanted him out of the attic. Fumbling back a few steps, Derek reached the door and nodded to Jace, and then met Davidoff's eyes. "I won't tell anyone unless it seems I must."

Davidoff caught the meaning as well as Jace. Derek wasn't going to tell anyone, unless he started to worry about Jace's safety.

"Have no fear, you'll see Jace in the morning." And then Davidoff waited for the Derek to pad down the stairs until he addressed Jace. "You'll be staying up here tonight, Jace, for that little display. I think it might do you some good."

Jace struggled to find words to voice his outrage, but it seemed too strange a situation. He tried to stand, maybe show some resistance, but Davidoff was much stronger then he thought, and shoved him down hard. Davidoff dragged Jace to the cage door and undid the lock with magic, all the while, Jace twisting about like a snake. He wasn't going to go willingly, not into a cage.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Jace snarled when Davidoff shoved him headfirst in. "You can't just keep kids in cages!"

"Watch me," hissed Davidoff, and then he kicked Jace in the knees. Jace toppled down finally, and Davidoff slammed the doors shut, spinning the magical lock. "I'll have one of the nurses release you early tomorrow morning."

"They've got cages upstairs," Jace said breathlessly to the children crowded in Clary's room. "There are dog cages upstairs with locks on them, and if you break the rules, Davidoff said he'd lock you in one and not feed you."

Clary, who had been exploring her new room, dropped the pink notebook they'd provided for her and gasped. "We're not animals, we're children!"

"Not much of a difference to them," said Tori dismissively. "For some reason, this doesn't surprise me either. I think if Mom could of, she would have stuck me in a cage years ago."

Derek, who had been silent through all of night before, thinking about what would undoubtedly be his fate one day, lifted his head and spoke. "No, Davidoff wouldn't lock us up because of our behavior. He'd do it because he wants to prove to us that he has control over us. What better way then to lock us in a small cage and not feed us?"

"If he's tries, bro, you let me know and I'll…" Simon made a gesture with his hands, and the closet door flew open. "I'll get you out."

"No, Simon," Derek said at once. "He'd just lock you in a cage, too."

"How come Clary got the good clothes?" demanded Tori loudly in the silence that followed. "Look, she's got cute stuff, skirts and matching shirts, and even nice shoes."

Clary, along with the rest of the children, glanced at the open closet, and she flinched at what she saw. "I don't wear skirts. You can have them, Tori."

"No, she can't," Derek cut in. "If you try and trade clothes the nurses will know and you'll be in trouble with Davidoff."

Clary reached in and pulled out a pleated skirt with a schoolgirl button top, and she frowned. "Why would they care what I wear?"

"It's all about controlling our emotions, and our identities here. This is just one of the ways to do it. You wear those clothes, and those clothes wear you. They define you," Chloe said softly. "So you get to be the little schoolgirl, congratulations."

Clary threw the skirt on the floor. "It's stupid."

"Well, enjoy those while you can, lucky girl," shrugged Tori. "And hurry up and get dressed. We all have to be downstairs in ten minutes for breakfast. The nurses really get pissed if we're late."

"What do I wear?" Clary said uncertainly. She looked at the rest of the children who were all dressed, seemingly, perfectly. Jace was in a nice pair of jeans, a grey tank, and a white shirt left unbuttoned. Chloe was in a skinny jeans and a tee-shirt, her hair hanging in her face. Derek and Simon had seemed to come to an agreement, and both were wearing shorts and tee-shirts. Tori was in a dark blue shirt, almost a dress really, with a pair of black leggings. "All I've got are these stupid school uniforms."

"Here," said Tori at once, and she dug around in the closet for a few seconds. She came out with a pleated blue and black skirt, a blue shirt, and a blue tie. "Boys, out!" she ordered, and Chloe herded them out the door. Clary watched Jace go, wishing she could follow. She hadn't had a chance to really talk to him about their sudden revelation; Jace had been kept in the attic all night.

"Put these on, and then take a peek in the mirror," Tori said, and tossed the clothes at her.

Clary struggled into the skirt and blushed when she realized it was fitted to her size. Someone had obviously measured her and had her clothes tailored. She buttoned and tucked the shirt in, and joined the two who were staring in the opposite direction, out the window. She swung the tie around and hit Tori with it.

"Can you tie this?"

"Give it here," Tori sighed, and then roughly began to work the tie around her neck. "There, it looks fantastic. Oh, and pull your hair up, it looks stupid down."

Clary flushed and knotted her hair in a bun on her head with a hair tie. She caught a glimpse of herself in her mirror, and had to admit that Tori knew how to dress. She looked absolutely sweet and innocent in a skirt and shirt, and the tie, loosely knotted below her throat, was high fashion, she thought. She also wondered belatedly if Jace would like it.

"I look pretty nice," Clary managed, and then turned to smile at the two girls. "Thanks, you guys."

"Anything, girlie, now let's move; those nurses are gonna kill us," Chloe laughed, and then they threw open the door and hurried out.

Derek, Jace, and Simon were waiting in the hall, and when he saw Clary, Jace blinked and his eyes got a little wider. "That's flattering," Clary whispered when she caught up to Jace. "So, I'm guessing you like the outfit?"

"Yeah, it's alright," Jace murmured, and Clary felt his hand brush her back. She wanted to kiss him there, in front of everyone. She just wanted Jace.

When they arrived at the bottom of the stairs, they were greeted by Talbot, who scowled at Jace and Clary so close. She directed them all to a table, and then said, "Today is Saturday, so you've all got chores to do. I want this house _spotless_, do you understand? Oh, and Clary, Dr. Davidoff sent this for you." Talbot produced a book full of blank paper for her to draw on. "He said you're to take it to class to help you in your lessons."

Clary took the book and ran her hands admiringly over the smooth leather covers. She unstrung the little latch and flipped over the fine paper, just the right thickness, so as not to leak whatever she chose to draw with. Clary placed the book below her seat at the table and smiled when Jace took the seat beside her.

Breakfast was served in silence, but the nurses seemed to be in a much better mood than before. The younger one, Van Dop, set a huge bowl of scrambled eggs down, while Talbot placed a plate stacked with toast down. And then, while Talbot handed pills to each child, Van Dop poured orange juice into separate glasses and served them. Finally, a bowl of fresh berries was delivered along with a plate piled with bacon.

"You have half an hour to eat; we'll have the list of chores ready for you by then," Talbot announced, eyeing the children one by one as they downed the medication. She left them then, pulling Van Dop in tow.

"This is pretty nice," Jace commented after a first bite of eggs. "After yesterday, I thought we were headed for Auschwitz."

Simon made a face. "You'll be there soon enough, Jace; just wait till you see the chore list. They have to feed us a lot on weekends so we have the wherewithal to work all day."

"What do we do?" Clary asked, rethinking her skirt.

"It varies," Chloe answered. "But you'll be at it all day. It's good for us, I guess; you know, if we work all day, we'll be too tired to stir up trouble."

"Oh, awesome," Jace said sarcastically, and chewed his bacon loudly.

The six of them continued to eat, talking about random things that wouldn't arouse suspicion to the nurses. They made sure to eat everything set before them because they didn't know how their lunch and dinner might fare. When the nurses came back in, they cleared the dishes, and then flourished a list.

"Alright, children," Talbot said, drawing them all to attention. "There's a lot to get done, so you're all going to have to work hard to finish by the end of the day. Derek, you'll go out and rake the leaves in the back yard, get them into trash bags and put them by the roadside. Don't forget to sweep the drive as well." Derek rolled his eyes but made no comment. "Jace, you'll be raking the front yard, and sweeping the front drive. Make you sure you bag the leaves and sticks. Both of you are responsible for raking the flower beds as well." Jace and Derek met eyes and frowned; the sheer size of the yards would ensure hours of labor, even with their advanced abilities.

"Tori, you'll be cleaning the floors today. Vacuum the carpets, wash the bathroom tile, use wood cleaner on the wood floors, and make sure you take the rugs out and beat them. You have to get _all _the rooms today, do you understand?"

"Even the basement and attic?" Tori complained, considering how big the house already was.

"No, Tori," sighed Talbot. "The _living_ floors."

Talbot ran her eyes over the list. "Clarissa, you'll be in charge of the kitchen today. Wash the dishes, counters, floors, appliances. You'll also be making lunch today. Around twelve, Nurse Van Dop will come with the daily meal recipe. You'll also wash the lunch dishes." Clary nodded, happy to be staying indoors and in a kitchen, where her skirt wouldn't be a problem. "Chloe, you're on laundry duty today. You'll be washing everything in this house: clothing, washroom towels, kitchen rags, anything that needs washing. Make sure it's folded and returned to its owners in a timely fashion. Yes?" Chloe sighed, and fished around in her pockets for a hair tie. "Simon, you have some miscellaneous cleaning; clean the bathroom, sinks, tub, cabinets and all. Wash the furniture in the classroom, clean the furniture in the den, scrub the windows. If you run out of things today, come find me."

The children all rose and wandered around the kitchen aimlessly, already hating the idea of a day spent toiling over useless tasks. Derek and Chloe drifted off to each other and left for the den to have a small talk. Tori just ran a hand through her hair and stomped off for the vacuum. Jace caught Clary's hand and tugged her gently, watching Simon slink out lazily.

"I guess I won't be seeing you for a while," Jace whispered. "Which is a shame when you're dressed so nicely."

"Jace," she sighed, and then he pulled her against him. Clary felt a gasp escape her, but she relaxed into his arms. "I was so worried about you, Jace, when you didn't come to dinner yesterday."

"I am sorry. How can I make it up to you?" He raised an eyebrow and then smiled. "I think I know how." Jace bent and brushed Clary's lips with his.

At first, Clary wanted to pull away, but she remembered belatedly that they won't brother and sister anymore, and it was okay to kiss Jace. She felt his lips work against hers, and she pressed herself against him, trying to remember the very contours of his body for the long day ahead. It was so nice to kiss Jace, to know that he was with her and wasn't leaving anytime soon.

"I guess I forgive you," Clary said against his lips. "If you promise not to leave again."

"Never," Jace murmured, and continued down her neck. "Why leave this?"

"Jace!" Clary laughed, and pinched his arms.

Suddenly Jace straightened and turned in attention to the door. "Damn," he hissed. "Nurses coming."

When he pulled away from Clary, cold air rushed in and made Clary wish she could reach out for him. He caught the weak gesture and smiled ruefully. Swiftly, Jace kissed Clary on the cheek and then vanished through the door to the front yard. Clary stared after wistfully, and then turned back to the piles of dishes waiting for her attention.


	11. Dr Davidoff's Decision

Dr. Davidoff's Decision

The air was crisp and cool, the sun was out, though the light didn't offer that warm kiss it did in the summer. The scent of change was in the air, the scent of dying leaves, of cold air, of seasonal wetness. It was Fall, alright. The chill seeped all the way into the bones, and left a person speeding through their work, pumping energy and heat and into their stiff bodies.

Derek inhaled and felt a shudder race up his spine. The world was open before him, nothing but a wooden fence holding him back. He could take that fence ten feet away and clear it, no problem. But…but he doubted that Chloe or Simon could do the same. He waited on the stoop for a minute, taking in the afternoon, and then shook himself to life.

"Nice out, huh?" Derek said to Jace, who lingered by his side. His face was clear and his skin seemed to glow more gold than ever. "At least we can enjoy our labor."

"Nope," Jace sighed, and he walked past Derek to the shed. Inside he burrowed through the supplies and found a rake. He stalked to the front yard, which was as open and beautiful as the back, and scowled at the sloping lawn. It was just a cruel trick, something to punish him with. Jace was almost sure Dr. Davidoff had planned this, planned to send him out into the world, where his life was just a few long strides away. If he started running now, how long before he was back at the Institute?

_Doesn't matter, though,_ Jace thought, placing the teeth of the rake down. _Not like I can leave this place. Not like I can leave Clary_.

Gritting his teeth, Jace began to scrape the leaves into a pile. He watched cars pass by, watched the lives of other, normal, people drift in and out of his. A terrible ache was gnawing at Jace's insides, urging him to go. The street was _so close_. He could taste the freedom, feel the desire pulsing through him like blood. He could go, he could run. There wasn't even a fence; just a stroll down the hill and he was on the street.

_Clary_.

What would Isabelle say when he showed up at their doorstep? She'd run through the Institute, screaming about him. She drag him about, shoving him in the faces of her mother and father. And hen she'd parade him before Alec, who would blush and stammer and finally just say how good it was to have him back. Certainly Max would be beside himself with joy; Max had always worshiped him, would probably jump up and down when he saw him.

_Clary._

He could go back to fighting the real fight. What wouldn't he give to meet his father face to face, if not to kill him, then at least to bring up this nasty Edison Group past? It would feel so right to hold a blade again, to swing it, stab it, slice it through the air. His arms longed for runes and his muscles were still tensed for the spring.

_Clary! _

Jace sighed and leaned against his rake. He knew he wasn't leaving Clary in this place. As long as she was here, this was where he'd be. He'd follow her to the end of the world, and in this case, to the Edison Group compound. Jace straightened and stared longingly at the house where Clary was already at work with lunch.

"Jace!" Derek called out from his vantage point. "Keep raking or Van Dop will come out and give you hell."

Jace grinned at him crookedly. "Cause I haven't been there already."

"I'll give ya that one," Derek growled. He was leaning against the wall of the house, watching Jace from a distance. "What's on your mind?"

"Clary," Jace answered emotionlessly, and then turned to stare at the windows on the front of the house.

Behind those windows, scrubbing crispy eggs off a pan, was Clary. The kitchen was small, cozy, and full to the bursting with dishes that needed washing. The counters had plates stacked atop each other, lines of ordered glasses, and mountains of bowls. The double sided sink was sporting piles of listing pots and pans in deep pools of water.

"Why does no one wash dishes in this place?" Clary grumbled as she shifted a pile pots to one side of the sink. She rinsed the empty side until it was clean and then placed a drainer in it. "Just soak them in hot water!" Clary snarled as she began to run a stream of hot water into the dirty side of sink.

Slowly, Clary began to rub the pots with a soapy sponge and then rinse them in hot water. The process was slow because Clary's mind kept drifting out to front yard where Jace was surely working away. She wanted to be out there with him, even if she had to pick leaves off the group by hand. In the room next door, she heard Tori vacuuming and muttering to herself about stupid jobs, and she felt a smile turn her lips.

It was so strange to be doing such a mundane chore under such strange circumstances. She was a genetically altered shadowhunter who was being held against her will in a home for mentally disturbed children, and she was watching dishes? None of these things made sense. For some reason, Clary wanted to be back at the Institute where at least her life made sense…in a supernatural kind of way.

"This is just weird," Clary said to herself.

"You got that right," grunted Chloe, sneaking into the kitchen. She eyed the table and snatched an orange off the counter.

"What are you doing here, Chloe?" Clary asked as she finished on the last pot.

"Scouting for towels. You got any?" She scanned the room, spotted a few in a pile and tossed them in a basket in the hallway. "Listen, I saw the nurses all locking themselves up in the schoolroom about ten minutes ago, and they were talking about calling Dr. Davidoff."

Clary didn't immediately panic, but she felt her heart pick up its pace. Dr. Davidoff had already positioned himself in her mind as a major threat. She thought almost at once of Jace, and wishing he was there with her now. She strained to see out the window, but she didn't see a thing.

"What does he want now?"

"I'm not sure," Chloe said, twisting a strand of her hair about her finger. "I don't think it'll go well for you or me, or the boys for that matter." Somewhere in the back of her mind, a shadowy image was forming. She saw herself with Derek, remembered what Simon's dad had said about his time with the Edison Group. About how he and Mrs. Enright had had children. There was something wrong with these people.

"He locked Jace in a cage for a night and then wants to do something else to him?" Clary was shaking, trying to hold tight to the dish in her hand. "I hate him."

Chloe nodded sadly. "We all do," she said before she left for the washing machine.

Once Chloe had left, Clary finished the dishes and turned to the recipe the nurse had left for her. For lunch, it seemed she'd be preparing lunchmeat sandwiches, sliced fruit, plain potato chips, and yogurt cups for dessert. Clary fished around in the fridge, piling peaches, oranges, strawberries, bananas, and berries on the counter to cut and mix together.

As Clary cut the fruit, she listened to Tori vacuum, and tried to push the thoughts of Dr. Davidoff out of her mind. Eventually, the fruit was cut and refrigerated, so she began cutting lunchmeat into slices, the overpowering smell of ham, turkey, and salami filling her nose. As the sun began to coast over the sky, Clary set the table and laid out the lunch supplies. She was poring glasses of lemonade for everyone when she heard one of the nurses stick her head out the back door and call the boys in.

In a few minutes everyone tromped in to the dining room and seated themselves exactly where they had been before. Clary watched Jace slouch in and take his seat at the table, waiting for her. She settled into her chair just as Talbot bustled in and gave them all a severe look, daring them not to eat everything on their plates.

"I see you're all doing your chores," she said unlocking a cabinet and pulling out a number of small pill bottles. She divvied out medication and watched them all put the pills in their mouth. "I'm glad you've all adjusted so well. So, we've got a little surprise for you."

Clary's mouth went dry and she thought of Davidoff. Her hand went out and immediately caught hold of Jace's hand. He squeezed a little tighter and rubbed his thumb along the inside of her palm.

"If your chores are all finished by your next meal, after dinner you can have a movie night." She smiled at them and then left as though she'd just offered them their freedom.

"Movie night, awesome," Clary sighed, poking at some of the fruit she'd spent so much time cutting. "Do they have anything good?"

"Just Disney cartoons," Chloe said, rolling her eyes. "I like lunch, good job on the sandwiches."

"I could be a chef," Clary smiled. There was a chorus of light laughter and Jace wanted nothing more than to reach out and press her against him. He just wanted her.

They ate quietly at first, because Derek had warned them that the nurses would listen at the keyholes, but eventually, they drifted away to their work. In the silence after the nurses left, Derek cleared his throat. "Davidoff is coming to talk with us tonight."

"About what?" Jace said softly.

"About us," he answered. "The scientists have been planning something for a while. Something with us."

Clary looked up. There was something careful in Derek's voice, something that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. "Us?"

Derek considered all the things he could say. All the lies he could make. Could he let Jace and Clary know what might be waiting for them? He wasn't sure himself, but still… "I think they're planning on making me and Chloe and you and Jace _test_ something for them."

"Test what?" Jace hissed, eyes narrowed. "And why is it us? What about Tori and Simon?"

"Tori is my half sister," Simon said with a glance at the door.

"Why should that matter?" Clary pressed.

"Why do you think? We'll be in pairs, Clary; me and _Chloe_, you and _Jace_. Do you see a theme there?" Derek's voice was tight with meaning.

"Oh, God," Jace breathed. His mind was working frantically, trying to process a memory that had been hidden. He strained at it, grasped at it, and fought to hold on. He was in his room for the first time, and that woman, Lauren, was with him. She was going on about him and Clary, but what had she said?

"_You'll be with Clary soon, and we all know how much you love her. You two were meant to be with each other, Jace." _

"_You two were made for each other-literally. The doctors here began work on you and Clary so you could-"_

So he could what? What was Derek hinting at? What had the nurse meant when she said that he was made for Clary? He knew, he was sure he knew, but he couldn't make all the ideas come together.

"Would you just spit it out?" Jace snarled, his stomach aching painfully.

Derek sighed and looked at Chloe. "Listen, it's just a theory, but- Okay, our dad, when he worked at the lab, Mrs. Enright impregnated herself with his genetic code. That's why Tori and Simon are half brother and sister. I think they're gonna try something like that with us here. Or at least very soon."

Jace was silent, but Clary found a way to make her mouth move. "They're gonna make us pair up and-and _sleep _with each other?" She laughed, it was so absurd.

"I think so," he murmured in reply. His eyes darted to the door for a moment, darkened, then returned to Clary's terrified face. "That's what Dr. Davidoff wanted. But, right now, here at Lyle House, they won't force us."

"Oh, so not now, but soon?" Jace asked sardonically. His eyes roamed to Clary, who was staring open-mouthed at Derek. He wanted her to be safe, not force her into horrible things.

"Sooner than we'd like," said Derek darkly into his lunch.


	12. Divesting in the Future

Divesting in the Future

"How long can it possibly take you to pack?" Alec complained, leaning against the window frame in Magnus's bedroom. It was early morning, the city just lurching to life with people and cars. Not that life ever stopped in New York City, Alec thought, and his mind turned to Idris, and the quiet calm of the city at midnight.

There was something simple and beautiful in the sky as it darkened. And when the stars came out, casting their unforgiving and cold light on the cobblestone streets, there was silver light that descended like dreamlike peace. The glow from the towers in the City of Glass was like the glow of heaven. Nothing in New York, nothing in the entire Mundane world, could ever compare to the memories Alec harbored of his home.

"Alec, would you please pay attention?" Magnus sighed.

"What are you talking about?" Alec shot back, twisting away from the city and the memories.

"I asked you if you were packed, and you just stared out the window." He slammed the lid of his chest closed, now packed tight with clothing, and crossed his arms. His cat eyes narrowed. "What's going on with you, Alec?"

Alec swallowed and shook his head. "Nothing, I was just thinking about Jace." He realized at once he'd said the wrong thing and tried to backtrack. "I was just worried, that's all. He's at this horrible place, him and Clary, and we have to get him out…"

Magnus waved his hand and smiled knowingly. "Jace isn't on your mind, Alec, what is?" He pushed away from his chest and joined Alec at the window; Magnus cupped Alec's hand in his and squeezed. "What are you thinking, Alec?"

He sighed and stared at his and Magnus's hands entwined. "I was just thinking about…Idris," he admitted.

"Idris?" Magnus said abruptly. His eyes found Alec's and softened in sympathy. "Ah, yes, you're home."

"Yes, my home," he replied softly. "It's strange that I should be thinking about it now. When we're about to go looking for Jace and Clary."

"Not strange," Magnus said at once, sliding closer to Alec. "You're leaving behind your entire life, of course you're thinking about home. I'm sure it's beautiful."

"Beautiful," Alec agreed, and stared into Magnus's eyes. They were turned up at the corners, exotic and wild, and his heart beat out of time. It was strange, Alec thought, that he'd never noticed how perfect Magnus's eyes were.

Slowly, seductively, Magnus's lips curved up. "Perhaps one day we'll go there, just the two of us."

Uncertainly flickered across Alec's face with the idea, but he relaxed and leaned against Magnus. "I'd like that."

"I would too," Magnus whispered, and leaned forward.

Alec might have tried to stop him once, but he was far beyond that part of his life. Maybe when Jace had gone, it had gone with him, but any reservations Alec once had for Magnus were no more. When their lips met Alec felt a warm stirring and his hands moved around Magnus's waist. He didn't care that his sister and younger brother were in the other room, they cared for him enough to understand.

"Alec!" cried a voice from the next room. "Alec, come on! We gotta find Jace."

Magnus pulled away from Alec, smiling ruefully and glanced at the door. "Sounds like your little brother loves Jace as much as you." There was a tinge of bitterness in his voice. His eyes were sharp as cut glass.

"Magnus, you know I'm not-"

"Oh, I know," Magnus laughed. "Not in love. He's like your brother, isn't he?"

Alec flushed, but his throat tightened painfully. "Yes, he is, and I heard him being tortured over his phone. I just want him to be safe, and you said you'd help me. Please, Magnus, if it was you, we'd be tracking you down."

Magnus shook his head, but somehow, he was touched. "Yes, alright. Come on, Alec, we've got some science fair projects to track down."

"Don't call them that," Isabelle said, standing in the doorway. Her eyes flashed like flint. "Jace is not a science experiment. And neither is Clary!" Her voice rose. "They are people who are being held hostage. You read the letter, you know what's going on, you know we need to help them. It's _not _funny."

"Of course not," Alec amended and stepped past Magnus. "Izzy, you know we'll find them. Then we can get Jace and Clary away from there. Magnus will help us." He turned a pair of icy blue eyes on the warlock and the question was there.

"Yes, yes, yes, let's go!" Magnus grumbled and he herded everyone out of the room. The three found Max sitting on a couch, eyeing his small backpack with his meager clothes.

"Are we leaving now?" he asked anxiously.

"Yep," Alec said, and walked over and scooped his brother up.

"We're gonna get Jace back?" he pressed.

"Absolutely," assured Alec.

"Alright everyone," Magnus said loudly. "Place your bags together and let me take care of them."

Alec and Isabelle piled their belongings near the center of the room and watched at Magnus muttered words and made gestures in the air. In a flash, the luggage was gone, and room was left with the lingering scent of magic. Magnus brushed his hands on his pants and smiled a self-satisfied smile.

"Well, are we ready to go?" Magnus asked. There was silent nod from each of the Lightwoods and Magnus gestured to the door. "Let's go."

The four of them left the apartment in silence and found themselves on the busy New York City street, people bustling by them. Magnus hailed a cab and they piled in to the uncertain gaze of the cab driver. Alec gave the street address and then picked Max up and set him on his lap.

"Everything's gonna be okay, Max, see? We're already on our way."

"We don't even know where we're going," Max pointed out as the streets started to whiz past, and he couldn't bring the smile to his face that Alec was waiting to see.

* * *

The movie that night turned out to be _The Lion King_. Clary took a seat by Chloe and the two shared a pained smile. Simon and Derek were settled on the couch, watching the girls, and Tori was sitting in a chair, painting her nails. When Jace came in he blinked and gave a confused look to Clary.

"What are we going to enjoy tonight?" he asked with false bravado.

"_The_ _Lion King_," Chloe offered at once. "It's a family fun video. Something for little children. It's got good moral values, though, and the classic Disney happy ending."

"What's a Disney?" Jace asked, confused.

"Disney is a corporation that markets movies and the like for families," Simon said with a raised eyebrow.

"So we're watching a movie for kids?" Jace asked, and he slouched over to Clary. "It'd better be good."

Chloe laughed at the idea that Jace had never seen or even heard of _The Lion King_. It was a classic kid movie. She'd watched it hundreds of times as a kid. She had even had a plush Simba when she was growing up. It was just something that had intergraded itself into a persons childhood.

Nurse Talbot came in and slid a battered video copy into the VCR. As the previews played he cleared her throat. "You're all allowed to stay up late to enjoy this film, but if I hear any type of ruckus, you're all going to bed." She gave each child a firm look and passed to the door. "I'll bring in popcorn later. Behave."

The film began with the famous African screech and the sun rising over the African Serengeti. Jace was thoroughly intrigued with the music and the plot. He watched Simba with deep interest and was very silent for most of the movie. At first, Clary didn't understand what Jace saw that was so important. But she suddenly realized that Jace had never had a childhood that involved these movies. He'd never had the carefree indifference of a child. This movie was an anomaly to him.

When the movie came to an end, the children finished the popcorn and waited for Talbot to come and herd them to their rooms.

"I hate waiting," Chloe said softly as the credits played. "I hate waiting for these people to decide what they're going to do with us. It's like this horrible limbo, we just have to sit here like normal kids, watching movies and munching on popcorn until they move us."

Jace lowered his eyes, but his hand went around Clary's waist and squeezed encouragingly. "How long will they keep us here, do you think?"

"Just as long as it takes to settle us, and then we're back to Edison Group headquarters," Derek announced. He tensed very suddenly, like someone was blowing one of those dog whistles. "I think we're about to be disturbed."

And sure enough, the two nurses slipped into the room. Talbot turned the television off and turned on the children. Jace, already nervous from the early conversation, moved as close to Clary as he possibly could. "Children, you're all to go upstairs and prepare for bed. You have an hour before lights out." She directed them all to the open door as Nurse Van Dop scurried about setting cushions to right and cleaning up the leftover popcorn.

Chloe and Tori rose and looked pointedly at Clary to follow them. Uncertain, but worried about their intense stare, joined them. Once they were in the hall, Chloe said softly, "The nurses like to try to keep a little discipline in the house with the opposite sexes. Once we're at the stairs the boys will come."

Sure enough, the moment Clary's foot touched the stairs, they all heard the boys coming noisily behind them. When she was at the top of steps, Jace called up. "Hold up!" He was up the stairs in a minute, so fast even Derek had to blink, and had Clary in his arms. "I don't like it when you're out of my sight. This place has got eyes everywhere."

"I know what you mean, I feel like Davidoff might be waiting for me somewhere," Clary whispered as she and Jace wandered down the hall to her room. She pushed the door open and glanced around the unfamiliar room. The bed was there, made and waiting for her to curl up. The closet filled with clothes that weren't hers. The windows that never opened. She shivered and burrowed through the closet for pajamas.

Jace laid back on the bed and studied the ceiling as Clary quickly changed into a pair of flannel pants and a sleeveless shirt. Clary crawled onto the bed, joined Jace feeling terribly uncomfortable. She didn't want Jace to think she was nervous. He rolled over and wrapped his arms about her.

"I wish I could sleep here every night," Jace murmured, running a hand through her hair.

"I wish you could, too," Clary whispered. She snuggled into his warmth, feeling safe for once that day.

Without a word, without barely moving, Jace pressed his lips against Clary's and pressed her against him. Gently, he rolled over so Clary was on top of him as he continued to kiss her. There was nothing more perfect, nothing better than this. Jace was forcing all the nightmares of Lyle House out of his mind with each fiery kiss.

Down the hall, Chloe was curled against Derek, watching Simon sketch a picture of a great big wolf. She inhaled and rustic scent that seemed to hang around Derek and played with his curling hair. There was a loud sigh and Tori slammed her toy laptop shut.

"Is it necessary for you two to hang off each other like monkeys off a tree?" she snapped.

"Someone's in a mood," observed Derek. "What's got you?"

"It this stupid laptop; it doesn't do a thing." She pushed it across the floor. "Why give me a laptop if I can't even go on the internet?"

"To shut you up," Simon answered, never taking his eyes off the drawing. "Same reason they gave me and Clary art supplies. And why they widened their collection of movies. I wonder what they're going to give Jace."

"A knife would be nice," Derek laughed, and kissed Chloe on the cheek. "He could do some real work with that."

"Wish someone would," muttered Simon. He stopped drawing and a shiver raced up his spine. "I don't wanna go back to Edison Group headquarters." He paused, forced himself to stop shaking, and added, "It sorta scared me."

A long silence descended and then Tori hissed, "I hated it. Everyday I was there I wondered, Is this the day they do it? Is this when they stick me on a table and kill me? And my mother, she just sneered at me. I'd rather be locked in this hell then go back there."

"What do you think they're planning?" mused Simon softly. He paused in his painting, but the grip on his paintbrush was so tight his knuckles turned white. "What do you think they're going to do to us?"

"Aside from forcing us to make bad decisions with each other?" Derek barked. Beside him, Chloe pressed her lips together. "They'll never let us go, that I'm sure of. We'll have to live the rest of our lives in that…place."

"Really positive, aren't you, Derek?" sneered Tori.

He stared pointedly at the laptop she'd tossed aside. "Well, someone has to be."

* * *

"Where is my son!" Valentine roared. He spun around from the fire, the sparks in his eyes brighter than those in the grate. There was a certain wildness in his eyes that was not there normally; he didn't seem quite as contained and sophisticated as usual. "I asked you where my son is."

"How should we know?" Robert said blankly.

"And why should we care?" demanded Maryse passionately, jumping up from her seat at the mahogany desk. "Our children have gone! They just left us."

"That is not my concern," Valentine said stiffly, trying to contain the anger that was coursing through him. "I believe we had an agreement that promised my son to me in return for the safety of your children. This, it seems, is karma." He smiled, and it wasn't a pleasant sight.

"I have lost my children because of you. It seems that your losing Jace is karma, don't you think?" Maryse said fiercely. Robert rose and wrapped a hand firmly around her wrists to stop her from lunging at Valentine. He was no illusion there to taunt them; Valentine was as physical as the desk behind them. If Maryse attacked him now, there would be nothing to stop him from hurting her in return.

"You lost your children because you couldn't control them," said Valentine sharply. "Jace would have obeyed _me_ had you delivered him. And your children would have obeyed you had you raised them right."

"How dare you speak about raising a child-"

"Maryse!" Robert warned.

"You have failed me," Valentine accused. He strode toward them, but the wildness was now gone. It was replaced with calculation and cunning. "But, perhaps we can right this mistake. I suppose you still want your children back?"

The Lightwoods paused in their struggle and their eyes slowly turned on Valentine. He was leaning against the mantle now, the epitome of casual. Swallowing her pained cries, Maryse answered, "I would do anything to get them back."

"Excellent," applauded Valentine. "Then we have like interests. I think that if we find your children they will lead us to mine. We can help each other, you know."

"We've dealt with you once and lost our children's love," Robert growled. "And now you want us to do it again? Are you mad?"

"What have you got to lose this time?" asked Valentine starkly. "Nothing. But what have you got to gain? Everything."

"Valentine," began Robert uncertainly. "We have no idea where they might have gone off too. I mean, they ran off with Magnus, but we've checked. He's no where to be found. Gone. Out of the country probably. And if our children are with him, they'll be working together to hide."

"Have a little faith," shrugged Valentine. "I have my ways of tracking down some stray children. If I can locate them, I'll need you to go in and get them."

"Why us?" asked Maryse, thinking of the mutinous light in Isabelle's eye after she learned of their betrayal. "Our children won't come back to us now."

"They won't _return_ to you, but they'll _run_ from me. We just need them to pause, to wait a moment." Valentine considered where this might get him. He needed his children with him if he wanted the Clave. Was he going to have to use force with the Lightwood brats?

"It's just another betrayal," whispered Maryse bleakly.

"Yes," Valentine said sharply, catching her whisper. "But this betrayal will bring your children back to you. And, it will bring you into my most trusted circle. When all this over, you and your children will be safely ensconced in my power."

"You don't make us feel any better," warned Robert.

"I didn't plan on it," he answered smartly. "I'll see to finding the children. When I call, I'll tell you where to meet me." Valentine turned on his heel and headed for the door, but paused, considering the simmering silence. "I wouldn't suggest reporting me to the Clave, either. I'll find your children no matter what happens, and it will go worse for them if you've betrayed me." And then Valentine left the Lightwoods to mull over his words.

There was a determined fierceness in Valentine's step as he left the Institute. A part of his anger at Jace and Clary's vanishing act still lingered, and he thought hungrily of how he could use his two children in his war. He continued down the street, ignoring the looks of the Mundanes who glanced his way. They didn't know, Mundanes never knew. A smirk curled his lip.

It took a while for Valentine to work his way back to the abandoned warehouse where he was working from. Valentine marched up the steps slowly, his mind chasing idea after idea of how he could get his hands on the Lightwood children. How could he convince Robert and Maryse to let him deal harshly with their children? As he considered his options, Valentine sent a fire message to his son.

As the sun rose up and light crept across the floor, the steel doors slid open and a silent figure slipped up the stairs. He opened the door slowly, waiting for his father to wave him in, and when Valentine did, he came quickly. Excited.

"Father?" he asked.

"Jonathan, it's about time I put you to work."

Jonathan pressed his lips into a very sick smile. "Are you sending me after my brother and sister? I told you I should have been sent in the first place. You can't trust a demon with something-"

"No, Jonathan," Valentine ordered. He caught the glint in his son's dark eyes, but it was gone just a fast. "Jace and Clary are beyond our reach for now. You're going after the Lightwood children and the warlock, Magnus Bane. I want all four of them alive."

"Even the warlock?" Jonathan asked incredulously.

"Even the warlock," he replied swiftly. "This is important to me, Jonathan. I'm trusting you to act maturely and calmly. I don't need dead bodies. Dead bodies can't tell me anything."

"You know me, father."

"I know you're rash," he snapped back. "Many times I wish you were like your brother."

Even mentioning Jace was like a trigger for Jonathan. He hated Jace. He wanted nothing more than for Jace to die slowly. It would have been such a pleasure to hurt his little brother. He clenched his hands into fists and smiled toothily at his father.

"I know, father. And I promise that I'll help to bring him and my sister back to you."


	13. A Delicate Subject

A Delicate Subject 

Dr. Davidoff was staring at Clary who was working studiously on a picture. He watched her pencil fly across the paper in the bound book he'd given her, and wondered what she was so consumed with. It was good, he thought, that Clary had developed a healthy outlet for her stress. If she hadn't started working, he might have had to take action, and that wouldn't have gone over well with the scientists at the Edison Group. The girl seemed to relax with each stroke.

Her boyfriend, on the other hand, was a constant thorn in his side. Davidoff didn't want the subjects to die, least of all Jace. The boy showed amazing potential. But if he didn't find a way to relax and allow the medication they were giving him to take a full effect, Davidoff would have to use some form of punishment, and that would be recorded in Jace's permanent file, and the scientists would have to consider alternate courses for Jace. If he wasn't shown to be making progress, he might not be allowed to live.

The boy obviously needed something physical to do. A hobby that would allow him to keep moving. All of three of the boys did, really. Davidoff considered letting the boys outside for a few hours of activity. Maybe a trip to the local swimming pool. Something to let the boys exercise.

His eyes skipped over to Chloe, who was scribbling something in a journal. Probably a screen play. He liked her. She was usually so good tempered. It wouldn't be hard to keep her under control once the children were moved to the compound. And if he had Chloe under control, Derek would fall in line well.

Simon and Tori were going to be a problem, seeing as they both hated Mrs. Enright, and since they both wanted to see Kit. But Davidoff figured with enough force, and perhaps a bit of threatening, the two might give in. He needed all the children alive. It was important to show that all the subjects were making progress.

"Everyone, you may take a short break from your studies. An hour. Eat something and take the fresh air. When you return, I'd like to begin touching on a delicate subject."

The children all looked up, slightly dazed. They'd been working in silence for the last two hours, consumed almost completely with their work. When Davidoff gestured to the door, they all rose slowly and filed out, still quiet.

Once in the dining room, a steady stream of conversation broke out.

"So, how long before they move us out of here, do you think?" Simon asked no one in particular, though his eyes rested on Derek. "I mean, now that they've got all us together, it's just a matter of time before we're moved right?"

"Maybe they want us to be best friends," suggested Tori with a very fake smile. "You know, us girls all get together and have a sleepover in one of our rooms. Do each others hair and give makeovers. Gossip about the boys."

"That just leaves us boys," grunted Derek, though he saw Chloe smiling. "I guess we get male bonding time."

"I knew it," Jace said with a smirk. "You wanted me. Sorry, but I don't do bromance."

"Don't flatter yourself too much, Jace," cut in Simon. "Derek likes little blonds, but I don't think he'd give you the time of day."

Jace's smile tightened, but he didn't make a sarcastic reply. Instead, he dug around in the fruit bowl on the table and pulled out a peach. "Let's go outside, I hate it in here."

Clary, Chloe, and Tori rummaged in the pantry and found granola bars for themselves, and then headed for the back door. Jace was leaning against the wall while Derek and Simon explained to Nurse Van Dop that they had strict instructions to go outside. Though she frowned at the sight of all of them wanting to go out together, she typed in the key code on the lock and the door clicked open.

"Forty minutes," she clarified. "And don't let me catch any of you by the fences. Stay where I can see you."

"What a bitch," Tori chirped as they all mulled around the garden and grassy lawn. "I mean, it's not like we've got anywhere to go that they couldn't track us." She glanced pointedly at Jace and Clary. They stared back, faces forcibly blank.

"You know," Chloe said suddenly. "That garden path there will drop you off at this beautiful little cluster of willows. There's even a few benches in the shade."

Clary translated this to: No one can see or hear us there, and she grabbed Jace's hand. "Come on, I'll race ya!"

They all ran down the path and piled into the protective covering of the willows' sweeping branches. There were two little benches at the base of the trees, painted a cheery white. Tori and Chloe took one, while Derek settled on the ground by Chloe. Clary sat on the vacant one and hugged herself. Simon leaned against a tree keeping a careful eye on the door. Jace just paced back and forth, and then looked meaningfully at Clary.

"Sharing is caring," Derek snorted.

Jace whipped about so fast everyone but Clary had to blink. She was the only one used to his speed. "It's a little hard to explain."

"Well, we've got the time before our little _special_ chat with Dr. D," cut in Chloe. She caught him in a steady stare and he rolled his eyes. "This is important, Jace."

"I know." He gave Clary another searching look. "Do you think Isabelle and Alec got our letter?"

"It's possible, but Magnus might have checked it before he let them read it."

"I don't think Magnus would purposefully leave us here." Jace thought a moment. "Well, _maybe_ he would, if it interfered with his partying schedule."

"Who's Magnus?" asked Derek.

"A warlock," supplied Clary. "He's a friend of ours. Kinda."

"Kinda?" Simon's raised an eyebrow.

Jace sighed. "He's dating my brother, so I'm counting on Alec to guilt him into helping us."

"I didn't think you had a brother," Derek said.

"Step brother," amended Jace. "I was adopted by the Lightwoods after Valentine faked his death, and that's when I met Alec and Isabelle and Max. I've lived with them for the last seven years."

"Hold up!" Tori snapped. Her gaze skipped between Jace and Clary. "You're confusing the hell out of me. Clary's dad is Valentine?"

"Yes," said Clary softly.

"But, Jace was raised by Valentine?"

"Yes," Jace sighed, this time with annoyance.

"But you're not related."

"No!" they both said sharply back.

"I thought my family situation was weird," muttered Tori. "You wanna explain this?"

"No," Jace shot back, but his shoulders were slumped in defeat. "Valentine raised me until I was ten, then he faked his own death. Back then he was going under the name of Michael Wayland. So, everyone thought I was a Wayland. Clary's mother, Jocelyn, took Clary when she was still in the womb and went into hiding before Valentine faked his death."

Jace waited for the stream of questions, but only Simon raised his hand. "Why did Jocelyn leave?"

Pause, and then Jace answered, "Because Valentine was insane, and she must have known it. She was trying to protect her child." It was hard to miss the tinge of bitterness in Jace's voice.

"So, you and Valentine were all alone for ten years?" Derek's voice held a certain condemnation to it. Like he didn't approve of a man who was a rumored maniac to be raising a son.

"Yes," he answered shortly. Clary gave him a pointed look and he chewed his lip. "Valentine's insane. I know that much from living with him. He's probably part of the reason I'm here."

"You figure?" Tori was the epitome of sarcasm.

"He trained me to be a warrior, a good shadowhunter, and I guess those qualities aren't what the scientists here wanted in a subject who was already unstable." He shrugged with a weak smile. "Too bad for me, I guess. Anyway, I went to live with the Lightwoods."

"You sent them a message?" pressed Chloe. There was a hopeful light in her eyes. Could they really escape?

"Yes, but it doesn't mean they got it. Or if they can even help." Jace threw himself down next to Clary and wrung his hands. "Anyway, by the time they figure out where we are, we'll have been moved, right? Somewhere new. Somewhere even harder to get out of."

"Possibly," Derek shrugged. "But it's worth hoping for."

"They'll be able to track you though," said Simon at once. "There are spells for that. My dad was talking about it when we still lived with him. As long as they have something that belongs to you, this Magnus should be able to follow."

"Well, that's the thing, isn't it?" Clary said softly, her eyes resting Jace. "Now that Jace lives here with his new possessions, does that mean that everything at the Institute is useless? Are those tings still his if he's not a child of the Lightwoods?"

Simon bit his lip. "That complicates things a bit. I mean, there are still ways to track a person, but they'll just be more difficult and take longer."

"Cause we've got so much time to spare," grumbled Jace.

"It's still something to hope for," Chloe said sternly. "It's better than waiting for these people to ship us off."

"Is it completely impossible for us to get away from here?" Clary asked. "If we cold send a message to Magnus to meet us somewhere near here…"

"They'd track us down," Derek grunted. "It would take about ten minutes."

"Yes, but, that's all we'd need," Jace said, his eyes glowing with a faint light. "If we could just pass something along to them. Anything. Then we could go back to Lyle House. As long as we left Magnus something to track us by."

"We'd have to plan this out." Derek said it slowly, but he was thinking away. "If there was a way to contact your friends, just for this. It could work."

"Clary." Jace grabbed her hand. "You could send a hidden message, couldn't you? If you use runes and we send a letter with a real message hidden in it?"

"Maybe," Clary whispered. She glanced from kid to kid. "I could try it out."

"We could get out of here," murmured Chloe desperately. "We could escape-"

"Shh!" hissed Tori just then. "Nurse Talbot."

The children had about ten seconds to position themselves in a comfortable position, and start up a conversation about basketball. Nurse Talbot came upon them just as Simon was demonstrating perfect throwing technique.

"Children," Talbot said. "Dr. Davidoff would you like to go to the classroom now. He said he's got to talk to you."

"The _delicate subject_," Derek said loudly to his fellow friends.

"This outta be good," Simon laughed darkly.

When the children settled themselves in the desks, Dr. Davidoff came in with a stern look. "We need to have a serious conversation, so I'd like it if you could act maturely." He eyed them severely and clapped his hands together. "Now, I know you've heard about some rumors, and I would like to clear them up."

"Are you letting us go?" Jace asked at once.

"Jace, this is hardly time for jokes," Davidoff snapped. Something in his frown made Derek's lip curl back in a snarl. "I'm going to tell you something that will require you to act like an adult, if you can't handle that, there will be consequences. I think you remember the attic?"

A number of furious remarks came to Jace's mind, but he held them back when he saw Clary's shocked green eyes. She was staring at him, and he could see the fear and fury that was slowly clouding her eyes over. Her head swiveled around and before Jace could stop her, Clary had spoken.

"You're a bastard!" she screamed. "Who do you think you are that you can just say those things? It's disgusting. You're disgust-"

"Clary, be quiet!" Davidoff shot back. He drew a step forward and Jace lunged between him and Clary. He met Davidoff's eyes with his burning gold ones. "Keep her quiet, Jace."

"Alright," he growled, and forced Clary to sit back in her seat.

"Now, listen children," Dr. Davidoff began, and he sat down against the desk in the front of the room. "The doctors who helped to develop treatments for you weren't quite sure of the effects those treatments would have. They didn't know how the experiments might affect you mentally and physically. So they developed a plan to test this.

"You might have noticed that there are three pairs of you. Derek and Chloe, Jace and Clary, Simon and Rachael."

"Rachael's not here!"

"What about me?"

"Simon, Tori, be quiet." Dr. Davidoff said, waving a hand their way. "Tori, your mom didn't want you to be a member of this part of the experimentation-"

"What is _this part_?" demanded Clary.

"To make things simple, it is the part where we check to see if your body has developed physiologically. We need to make sure you can…" Davidoff's voice wavered off, searching for the right term. "Make sure you can reproduce."

Clary and Chloe both blanched, even though they had been prepared for this. Jace, who was nearest to Clary, drew back at once. Tori blushed at the idea that her mother had known this was coming and had pulled her out of it. Derek growled loudly, wolf like.

"This is going to require you six to experiment with the idea of-"

"You're going to make us have sex!" Chloe cried, standing up. "I won't do it. I don't care what you say or what you threaten, I'm not gonna sleep with someone just because you need to know if my body parts work."

"Chloe, it's far more than that," began Dr. Davidoff in a low voice. "You'll have to get pregnant."

"No," Derek said loudly when he saw Chloe shaking. "You can't _make _us do this. I'll refuse."

"We can use in-vetro fertilization if we must. This is something the doctors need to know. If you can't reproduce, we'll have to figure out how to make it possible. If the drugs and treatments we give you make it impossible for other to have children there's no point in continuing it."

"Oh, does that mean you'll kill us then? We wouldn't have a purpose anymore," Jace hissed.

"You can't make us…that-that's like rape!" Clary protested.

"It's not like rape, it is rape." Derek was glaring at Dr. Davidoff, and his eyes were flickering precariously between green and gold.

"So what happens when we're pregnant?" cut in Chloe. "You can't expect us to carry the baby."

"No, we don't. We just want to see if you can, after we've confirmed the pregnancy we'll terminate it."

"This is disgusting," Jace spit out. He was shaking his head in denial, but he knew there wasn't a way he could refuse without putting Clary in danger.

"It's necessary," ground out the doctor. He held up his hand as the other children began to scream. "I won't here any more protests. I want you all to go to your rooms. I'd like if you could continue working on your independent studies. I'll be checking on your progress tomorrow."

They all stood up, like a pack of wolves advancing on their prey. But Davidoff reached behind the desk and pulled out a small electronic remote control. They paused, considering the effects their actions might have. None of them wanted to suffer for nothing.

"I have a question," Derek said softly, trying to rein in some grip on himself. "How long before we leave here?"

Davidoff tilted his head, thinking on the question. "If your new accommodations have been furnished, in about two weeks."

It seemed like a death sentence hanging over their heads. Two weeks. How were they supposed to escape Lyle House in that short of time? And once the two weeks was up, it was off the Edison Group and whatever nightmares waited there. So, they sat in Jace's room later that day, no one speaking, all staring dismally at the walls, locked windows.

"Clary," Simon finally said, after he'd run his hands through his hair almost a hundred times. "You've got to send a letter to your friends. You can't let them send us there. We need to _try_ to make a bid for freedom. Please."

Clary's eyes met Jace's and he shrugged helplessly. "We can do it, Clary. We can send another letter, and this time, you can use runes to hide the real message. We'll send it to Magnus, telling him to meet us somewhere."

"Why not just tell him to come here?" Clary asked.

"Can't," Simon said gruffly. "I think there are spells on this house. We won't be able to give directions to it. And anyway, does anyone here know where we are?"

"Okay. Here's the idea," Derek announced after a moment's thought. "Tomorrow, we'll ask the nurses if we can go to the swimming pool or something and leave something we own there. Once they tell us where we're going, send a letter telling Magnus. He should be able to find us using whatever we leave behind." His eyes landed on Clary.

She nodded firmly. "We can do it. Jace and I can write the letter first thing tomorrow in class. Dr. Davidoff thinks it's good for us."


	14. Messages of Fire

Messages of Fire

Isabelle's first thought as she stepped nimbly over the threshold of the abandoned warehouse was Mrs. Enright should never have brought Jace here. He deserved better than this. The windows were broken in spider web cracks, the floor was coated in layers of dust, the traces of footsteps preserved in it. Crates were stacked along the walls yards high, and some sort of assembly line machine was molding away in the corner. Even the rafters were out of shape, bent here and there, begrudging the weight they were forced to hold.

"She took Jace here?" Isabelle demanded, waving dust mites out of her eyes. "Wow, she has no sense of decorum."

"Isabelle," Alec sighed, and then turned his eyes on Magnus, who was stepping lightly with his nose scrunched up. "So, what do you think, Magnus?"

"I think Isabelle's got right idea, honestly. This place is a mess." He smiled but Alec just glared. "Okay, well, it's obvious she was keeping Jace over there, where the dust is unsettled. Why don't we search there first?"

"Well alright. Max!" Isabelle called, watching her brother loiter at the doors. "Come here, Max and help me out."

Max came slowly, staring all about the rundown warehouse. It was so disgusting. Just thinking of Jace-his big brother Jace-held captive here turned his stomach. Jace would have gotten away…but he hadn't. Had he been afraid? Max wondered. What had Jace been thinking as he waited here, his death sentence hanging over him.

"Where was Jace?" he asked with a determined frown.

"Over here, by the crates." Isabelle took Max and the two started scouring the area where there had obviously been a struggle. There was nothing but dust and dirt, and it wasn't giving them a thing. Max couldn't stop thinking about Jace lying there, and he wished more than anything that they had gotten there sooner.

Alec and Magnus began to wander about the rest of the warehouse floor. "If we find any blood, could you track them with that?" Alec asked spotting a rust colored stain on the floor. His stomach turned as he thought of where the blood might have come from.

"I wouldn't track them with blood. I'd try and communicate with them." Magnus was now towering above the blood, considering. "I could try to send them a message with it. Like a fire-message, but it could find them even if there was a magical shield around Lyle House."

"So, if this is Jace or Clary's blood…?"

Magnus dug around in his jacket and pulled out a small, glass phial. He bent down and scratched at the stain with his fingernail. A little of the rust came off and he shook it into the phial. He continued to scratch at the spot until the phial had a layer of the red dust coating the bottom. Alec stared at the phial and wondered who had bled for that.

"Alec!" Max cried just then. He sounded tired. "We can't find a thing."

Max cam pelting over and clung onto Alec's pant leg. "It's okay, Max. We might have found something that works a little better. We'll be able to send Jace a message."

"Really?" Max's eyes rounded and he stared at Magnus from his place at Alec's legs. How could Magnus do that? "Isabelle! They found a way to find Jace! Isabelle!"

Isabelle came over, eyeing the phial curiously. "What's that?" she asked sharply. Magnus quickly tucked it away and Alec looked down at Max, not speaking. "Magnus, what's in the phial?"

Magnus cleared his throat. "Someone's blood."

"Someone's, as in Jace or Clary's?" Isabelle's voice was getting shriller and shriller.

"Hopefully," Magnus offered with a quick smile.

"That's blood!" Max piped up, staring at Magnus's empty hands, and then a splatter on the floor.

Alec swung Max up into his arms. "Yes, but you know Jace. He bleeds a lot. He doesn't consider a day well spent when he hasn't lost a little bit of blood."

"What if it's Clary's?" Isabelle asked quickly. She'd never thought of Clary as a shadowhunter, never thought that she could handle being hurt.

"Clary is obviously fine, since they sent us a letter," Magnus said reassuringly. "But whoever this blood belongs to, it'll lead us Lyle House."

"Lead us to Jace and Clary," Alec said firmly, catching his little brother's eye. "Magnus, will you take us to your house? It's starting to get dark."

"Yes, yes. I'll draw up a portal. You three take one more look around this place."

As Magnus began drawing the portal Isabelle and Alec made a slow circuit about the room. It was hard to associate the memory of Jace with this ruin. Just as Magnus was putting the finishing touches on the portal, Alec strolled by a low broken window and paused. He was sure he'd seen a figure approaching.

"Isabelle, come over here." He waved to the window. "Do you see something?"

Isabelle narrowed her eyes as she stared out the window and saw the form of a man passing through shadows. She saw a shock of white blond hair a few angular cheek bones. Alec pushed Isabelle back just as the man stepped into the light. The planes of his face became crystal clear. He had dark eyes, midnight eyes, and a handsome face. He moved gracefully, lithely, almost like Jace. But there was no slinking grace to his stride, just determined, fast steps.

Suddenly, the dark eyes moved up and he was staring at Alec. Alec swallowed back any cries and felt himself go cold. There was no warmth in those eyes. Nothing but cold, calculating disgust. The young man curled his lip back in a snarl, and then started running.

"Magnus!" Alec cried, falling back. "Magnus, someone's coming. We have to get out of here!"

Magnus glanced up and with a flourish of his hand, stood aside from the portal. "Being tracked are we? Once we step through the portal they'll lose the tracking signal long enough for me to cast a spell to disrupt it." They were on the far side of the warehouse, so when they heard the creaking sound of the door being opened, they knew they didn't have much time. "Quickly now."

Isabelle had her whip out, but she was holding Max on her hip as well. In the fading light she saw a handsome man, face contorted in fury. "Run!" she cried, and dove through the portal.

Magnus shoved Alec through the portal and swept his hand in an arch. A few crates went hurtling through the air, but the man dodged them. Magnus shook his head at a loss and tumbled back through the portal. The last thing he saw was the young man shooting at him like a bullet. His eyes flashing like coal. His teeth bared.

"Bane!" the man yelled, but Magnus was already gone, falling back through the portal.

* * *

Jace and Clary were seated together, their desks pushed side by side. Dr. Davidoff had agreed that they could write another letter to their friends. He'd told them that it was a wonderful idea, and that he was sorry this was the only way they had to communicate. He even went as far as to assure Jace that once they were at the Edison Group compound, he might be allowed to call them. Davidoff had beamed at that, and Jace, forcing a smile on his face, said he'd like that.

Now, sitting in the classroom, Jace tried to figure out how to write a letter that sounded sincere. Clary was scribbling away on a piece of paper, trying to design a new rune that might let her hide a real message.

"Students," Dr. Davidoff said briskly, I have to leave for a few minutes to deal with a matter over the phone. Please continue working."

He left them and they all sat silent for a moment, then, with a scratching of chairs and muffled voices, the children crowded around the two desks.

"How's it going?" Simon asked at once, staring at the letter Jace had written and the crossed out runes on Clary's paper.

"I've got the letter written, but Clary needs to design the rune before I can write the real message. Plus, we don't know where they're taking us for our trip." Jace worried his lip. "Derek, can you ask Davidoff what the plans are. It might sound bad if I asked, since I was the one who suggested the trip in the first place."

"Yeah, I can do that," he said. His eyes were on Clary's work. The sweeping black lines, the strange twisting runes. "How do you do it?"

"I'm working on something, a rune that stems from the original invisibility rune." Her eyes darted to Jace, who nodded proudly. "See this one here?" Clary pointed to one that wrapped all about itself. "This one makes a shadowhunter invisible. I'm not trying to make a person invisible to humans, but words. It's almost the same concept."

Derek scrunched up his nose. "Don't mind Derek," Simon laughed. "Anything that he can't work out with a complex equation or a table of elements doesn't make sense to him."

Clary smiled weakly. It was typical of anyone who had never seen the complexity of art to act like Derek. Simon was an artist just like her, Chloe adored film, Tori could make magic happen on a computer, and Jace was a pianist. "Just wait, Derek. When I've finished this, you'll never doubt the power of art again."

"I never did," Derek grunted, and then winked at Chloe, who was trying to give him a severe look.

Clary screwed her face up in concentration and began to twist the rune she had about on paper. She gave a gasp of delight and waved the paper around. Jace caught it and smiled at her over the top of paper.

"It's perfect," Jace breathed. "Draw it on the back of the note."

Clary made a flourishing movement and the rune was on the bottom of the paper. Chloe gave a squeal just as the door was opened again and Dr. Davidoff came in. He ran his hand through his hair and saw all the children crowded together.

"What is it, children?" he asked sharply.

Jace stuttered, but Simon was quick on his feet. "We were all talking about our fieldtrip. Do you know where we're going?"

Davidoff relaxed into an indulgent smile. "I believe you're going to the community swimming pool."

They all forced happy smiles onto their faces and then dispersed. For the rest of class, Jace scribbled a fake note that sounded ridiculously upbeat. He had a hard time swallowing the fact that he was telling Isabelle he and Clary didn't have any obligations at Lyle House. He thought of the hours he worked on weekends, of the cages, and of the locked rooms. When Davidoff excused them, Jace and Clary headed up to his room.

"Let's finish the letter in my room," Jace whispered in Clary's ear. She shivered with him so near.

"They'll be getting ideas," Clary answered. "If we're alone together."

"I'm sure they'll approve," Jace laughed humorlessly.

He threw open his door and Clary flopped down on his bed. As always, Jace went to the window and looked out it, at the freedom that was so close but so far away. Clary glanced at Jace's room, at the bed ready made and the closet that was full of clothes he'd never wear but organized all the same.

"You keep a clean room," Clary said absently.

"You don't?"

Clary laughed sweetly. "I've got bras hanging off my headboard, piles of pants on my chair, and a drawer overflowing with underwear."

"Sounds like you." Jace settled at his desk and turned the letter over. He began writing, as quick as he could, worried someone might walk in on him sending for help. Not that he wanted to sound desperate, but the situation called for it, so Jace tossed his dignity out the window. When he was finished, he turned to wave it at Clary, and found her right beside him, face just inches from his.

"Done?" Clary asked sweetly.

Jace's breathing caught, and he placed the letter down slowly. "All set," he murmured.

Clary very suddenly pressed her lips to his. The kiss lasted for a moment, and then she pulled back. "Not that I was bored, I know it's important, but I figured I'd make the time I had with you last."

"I like when you make things last," Jace answered with a lazy smile.

Clary settled herself onto his lap-a little clumsily. She didn't really know where she was going with this. But Jace didn't seem to care, he growled deep in is throat and pressed her against him. Kissing Jace was always a surprise because it seemed to Clary that she was never ready for it. But she settled into it, feeling the beat of his heart, basking in the warmth coming off his body, shaking excitedly with the knowledge that she could have Jace. He was hers.

Jace was perfectly comfortable with Clary. Yes, his heart was beating double its normal tempo, he was trying to crush her against him, and he felt like he was falling…but he felt great. He knew now that he could have Clary, she wasn't his sister, she was his girlfriend. Just the idea made him smile against her lips.

"Jace-"

"Hmm?"

"No, Jace!"

"What?" he pulled back, startled, checking her lips and neck for something. Had he hurt her? "What's wrong?"

"There's something at your window," Clary whispered, staring.

"What?" Jace shifted Clary so he could see the window, and sure enough, there was a bird sitting on the windowsill. Its feathers were made of little red flames, licking their way along its body. It was a bird made of fire.

"What is it?" Clary said, staring at it, and clinging to Jace tighter.

"A bird," Jace answered. The bird fluffed its feathers and pecked at the window pane. When Jace continued to stare, it pushed off the windowsill, hovered in air, and scratched at the window.

"Let it in," Clary said, standing up and going to the window.

"Clary, get away from it." Jace pushed her back and approached the window cautiously. The bird hummed, pleased to see Jace moving forward, and landed again. "Stay by the door."

Jace loosed the window, and it moved an inch, as much as the bars let it go. The bird hopped closer, studied the space it had to work with, then burst into fire. The flames danced on the sill, slipped through the space like wind, and then reformed in the shape of a bird before Jace.

The bird looked around the room, glanced at Clary, then fluttered to the desk where it upset a jar of pens.

"What the hell is it?" Clary rasped.

"A bird?"

"I know that, but what-"

"Jace." Clary and Jace jumped as the bird spoke with Magnus's voice. It had opened its beak and the sound was pouring out. Clary shut the door firmly. "Jace, I can't send a long message. Me, Alec, Isabelle, and Max have been looking for you and Clary since the day she left, but we can't trace you. We found some of your blood at the warehouse Clary met Enright at, but I can't track you with it. If you can, send a letter back with this bird."

"Is that Magnus?" Clary asked loudly.

"He sent me a message with the bird," Jace said, going for the desk. He picked up the letter he'd written, and held it out to the bird. The little bird tilted its head, studying the note, then plucked it up in its beak. "Take it to Magnus Bane."

As if the bird was annoyed by Jace's request, the bird jumped at him, and then shot for the window. It burst into flame again, drifted through the window, the note with it, and was gone. Clary and Jace stared after it in complete shock.

* * *

Magnus's country house was almost as lavish as his flat in New York. Isabelle sat in the library, Max besides her, reading over a text in Latin. She couldn't make out much of it, but it wasted her time in way that pacing the room couldn't. Alec was making dinner in the kitchen, so he wasn't going to help her anxiety. Magnus had locked himself in the private study off the library and wasn't coming out.

"How long before we go get Jace?" Max pressed.

"I don't know, Max. He has to answer Magnus's message first. We don't even know where he is." Isabelle watched him closely, looking for any sign of despair. "Maybe you can help Alec with dinner?"

"Dinner?" sneered Max. "Don't we have more important things to do?"

"We can't do a thing till we know-"

"But Jace!"

"-where he is."

Max glared at Isabelle mutinously, and she turned away delicately, not wanting to see the hurt in his eyes. He fidgeted on his seat and jumped up, and then wandered off through the library. Isabelle knew it wasn't fair, but now that they were being tracked they couldn't afford to run around. It was too dangerous.

There was a tap by the window and Isabelle jumped, her mind still on the strange man chasing after them. She turned about, blade already in hand, but there was just a bird before her, its wings made of flames.

She peered closer, saw the note clamped in its beak and pressed her lips together in thought before turning and running full out, calling: "Magnus!"


	15. Terms of Imprisonment

Terms of Imprisonment 

"We're meeting them at a community swimming pool?" Alec asked as Magnus traced a portal. "What the hell are unstable genetically altered kids doing at a _community swimming pool_?"

"Swimming?" Max shrugged.

"Max," Alec growled, but Magnus was laughing, and Alec felt some of the raw tension he was feeling loosen.

"Well, what would you do at a swimming pool?" Isabelle demanded, and then she knelt and swung Max up into her arms. Max settled into Isabelle's arms, his hands curled around her neck. Isabelle felt, for the first time in her life, that she was a big sister. Even a mother. Just the way Max curled in her arms made her feel maternal.

"Guess we'll find out soon," Magnus called as the runes on his portal began to glow. "Hurry up you three, and remember, if you see that boy, we have to go. We can't afford to be caught by him."

"But Jace-" Max began.

"We'll do Jace no good if we're dead," Isabelle said firmly in his ear.

"Alright, let's just pull it together," Alec said, and joined Magnus at the portal. "I'll go first, then Isabelle and Max, and then Magnus can follow up. We just need to find the picture Clary's drawn. Jace said it would be of the two of them together."

"Where will it be?" Max piped up.

"Not sure," Alec admitted after a moment. "Just somewhere by the pool."

"Great," Isabelle muttered and Max giggled in her ear.

"See you there," Alec said, and then stepped through the portal. When his feet fell out from under him, Alec thought he might lose his last meal. A blur of color whirled past his eyes, nothing making much sense. He focused on the community pool, on the idea of finally finding Jace and Clary, and hung in empty space for just a moment. Then his feet hit pavement and he stumbled forward.

"Watch it!" Isabelle called as she came pelting forward, clutching Max to herself.

"Such grace," laughed Magnus as he stepped through the portal. Isabelle scowled in his direction fiercely.

"So Mundies come here to swim, do they?" Isabelle asked after a moment.

They had portaled into an empty gym. The windows on the far side were dusty and cracked in places, and the sunlight was being filtered by grey clouds. There was a basketball lying on the floor maybe a yard away and Isabelle eyed it, wondering what Mundanes did with it. Max squirmed in Isabelle's grip anxiously.

"Let's _go_!" he whined, pulling on her hair.

"Okay, okay," she said soothingly. "Where do they keep a pool?"

"How should I know?" Magnus asked. He was scanning the room, and Isabelle was almost sure he was using magic to search for unwanted intruders. Apparently, the young white-haired man wasn't around because Magnus nodded to the doors on the far side of the gym.

The four of them went silently through the community center, passing a few stray people. No one seemed to notice them except for a young mother who saw Isabelle carrying Max and nodded. Isabelle lifted an eye brow at her and the woman smiled encouragingly.

"Uh, what was her problem?" Isabelle asked as they passed down a flight of stairs and the overpowering smell of chlorine hit them.

"She thought you were a teen mom," snorted Alec.

Isabelle looked to Max, who was resting against her, and she felt a pang in her heart. Did Max even have a mother anymore?

"I think we found the pool," Magnus said. He pushed a door in and they were standing in the entrance to a changing room. Quietly, they walked down the lines of empty lockers and past showers. The door to the pool room creaked as they entered the pool.

Part of Alec was hoping they would push open the door and there would be Jace in the pool. He didn't care anymore if Jace and Clary were together. He didn't care if he walked in on Jace and Clary in each other's arms. He just needed to know they were safe. There was a promising splashing noise.

"Tommy!" screamed a little girl.

Alec caught a glimpse of two children playing the pool with their mother eyeing them closely, before he closed the door. He faced Isabelle and Max and shook his head. Isabelle sighed and Max shook himself out of Isabelle's arms.

"We need to find them. You said we would!" Max screamed. He looked from Alec to Isabelle and then ran off, screaming things. Alec moved to chase him, but Magnus caught him and pulled him roughly aside.

"Don't," he said gruffly. "Let Isabelle, she'll be better with him."

"Magnus," he sighed, and without meaning to, leaned against him. Magnus wrapped an arm about him. "I just wanted Jace to be there so bad. I just thought that if he was there, everything could go back to the way it was. Max…my parents…Valentine…"

"It's hard to understand for one as young as you," Magnus said calmly. "But, Alec, life doesn't go back. You never go back, you must move forward. Did you really think Jace would be here?"

"I don't know, I guess I was just hoping. Jace swore he'd be here."

"Yes," Magnus sighed. "But he also said he was going to leave something behind. Something we could track. That's what we're here for."

Alec looked completely lost, unaware of everything. It must have been horrible to lose a person you cared about so much, someone who insisted on always protecting themselves. Magnus saw all this in Alec's clear blue gaze. He ran a hand through Alec's thick black hair.

"We just need to find it, and I promise you, when we find it, I'll track him down for you." Magnus didn't know what else to say. He didn't know how else to comfort a lost child.

There was a long pause in which Alec stood and rubbed his arms. Then he glanced up and said, "Okay."

Magnus smiled and stared into Alec's eyes. "I know I give off the impression I hate Jace, but I promise, I'll put up with him for you." And then he kissed Alec, a strong fiery kiss. It made Alec realize he really was in love with a warlock. Someone who wasn't human. Someone who couldn't be human.

As Alec and Magnus kissed, Isabelle ran after Max's slapping footsteps. She could hear him pelting down the isles of lockers, screaming about losing Jace. She was trying not to focus on the idea of Jace and Clary, for Max. But it was hard. She missed them desperately. She heard Max slam a locker and turned toward the sound.

Max was slamming open lockers furiously. He'd stopped running, so Isabelle managed to grab him just as he reached the last locker. She snatched him up and pressed him against her. Isabelle felt his tears running down her shirt. Max had always loved Jace. How hard was this on him?

"It's just not right!" Max cried. "Why are we so close but we just can't find them?"

"Max," Isabelle said slowly. "We're going to find him. I promise that, but we just need to work in steps. This is a step."

"Well how many more steps are there?" Max demanded.

"I don't know." Isabelle went to close the locker quietly, but spotted something that didn't look right, like the paint chipped off the locker. But it wasn't. She reached out and patted her hand on the bottom of the locker, and a piece of paper came away

Max emerged from her shirt front to stare at the paper. "Isn't that-"

"Clary's," finished Isabelle with a grim smile.

* * *

A meeting had been called for all the children in Lyle House. They had been gathered in the television room, watching an old copy of the Little Mermaid. Jace was having a problem believing Ursula could so easily work her way into the lives of men, but Clary just pinched him and smiled. Then Dr. Davidoff had come in, followed by none other than Mrs. Enright.

Jace immediately grabbed Clary and scooted protectively in front of her. She gulped down any words she might have had. The memory of Mrs. Enright's threatening phone message, of her ruthless treatment of Jace, and the painful needle in her arm made a shiver race up her spine. Jace, whatever he was thinking or feeling, was sitting as straight and still as he could.

Tori and Simon both glanced away, thinking about their very cloudy past. Derek had openly grabbed Chloe and set her bodily behind him. He growled, completely werewolf now, and his body was shaking, close to a change.

"Calm down now, children," Davidoff said affably. "We just need a little meeting. We need to discuss a few things. How about a seat, Enright?" Davidoff added to Mrs. Enright. Mrs. Enright waited while Davidoff pulled a seat out for her, and then settled in it like a queen. She eyed each of the children, coming to a pause on Tori, who smiled back sickly. "So, how was the swimming?"

Davidoff always started off so happily, so happy it made Jace sick. Simon coughed and said, "It was good. We all had fun." There was an agreement that raced around the room.

"Excellent, excellent. Well, I have some fantastic news for you all." He grinned at each other them. "We have agreed that it's time to move you. That tomorrow night, we'll be taking you to the Edison Group."

Dread settled over the children like a cloud. Jace's first thought was the picture he'd left. How soon could Magnus find it and work out the charms to track him? He wondered just how bad the Edison Group really was. He glanced at Chloe's face, which was pale and terrified, and Derek, whose lips had now curled back in a snarl.

"Your accommodations there are all set for you. I had a hand in it, and I think you'll like it. Very comfortable." Davidoff clapped his hands together. "Then we can really get down to training."

"Awesome," Jace said sharply. "What's _she_ here for?"

Enright blinked slowly, as the other children stared in horror at Jace. She turned her head deliberately and smiled. It was frightening. "I'm spending some time at Lyle House, preparing you for your trip. I'm here to make sure everything goes smoothly. And," she said, smirking at Jace. "It appears it's a good thing I came. You are a problem, I see."

"Mom," Tori sighed, exasperated. "We're all curious, Jace was just wondering-"

"Be quiet, Victoria," Enright snarled. Clary gasped at the fury in her voice, and then yelped when blue flames began to dance on her fingertips. Jace grabbed her defensively, ready to jump into action. "Jace, let Clarissa go."

"I'd rather not. The three of us don't have too good of a track record."

"It'll be a lot worse in a minute or two if you don't let her go." Enright pressed her burning hands together. "If you insist on misbehaving I'll have to insist on punishment."

"Now, now," said Davidoff mildly. "The boy's taken with Clary." He winked when he used her nickname. "He's only doing what every good boy does for his girl."

"Well, I'm telling him to let her go," Enright growled.

"Well I'm saying no," Jace replied curtly.

"Boy," she snapped back. "Are you going to make me hurt you?"

"You're going to do that no matter what I say or do, so, yes, I guess I am," Jace ground out. He could hear Clary's heart beating irregularly in her chest. She was terrified. He hated Enright for that, for scaring Clary. He just wanted Clary to know she was safe.

Enright measured him up, considering him. Something flickered in her eyes and her smiled widened a little. Tori was debating a spell she could cast when her mother flicked her fingers and Clary was jerked out of Jace's arms. Jace lurched forward, Derek not far behind him, when Enright pressed her sparking fingers to Clary's throat and lifted an eyebrow.

"Now, now, boy," Enright said, ignoring the growls issuing from Derek's throat. "I'd like you to stand up and join me and Clary for a small walk upstairs." She snapped her hands, and Clary was forced to move forward. She yelped in surprise and then struggled to regain herself, but it was too late, Jace had heard her. His eyes registered her pain and he stood up, glaring.

"Fine," Jace said, his voice low and dangerous. He felt his blood pumping faster than ever, pounding in his ears.

"Davidoff," Enright said, "get these children packing. I'll be back in a short while. Move, girl." She shoved Clary forward viciously and she stumbled.

"Stop it!" Jace snarled. The blood pulsing in him was like a drum beat. Jace's mind was being consumed by rage, rage he had never really felt before. There was an anger he channeled into demon hunting, but this was different. This was wild, uncontrollable fury. Watching Clary being hit about was driving him mad.

"Join us, Jace," Enright laughed, and then they left the room. Jace hung back for maybe a second, wishing he had a weapon, anything, that he could use to drive into Enright's back. Then he swallowed his wishing and chased her out.

"Is she taking them to the attic?" Derek demanded, dropping down next to Chloe. "What's she doing with them?"

"Jace has had his warnings, Derek. If Mrs. Enright decides to discipline him, I will let her." He lowered his eyes, feigning regret. A minute of silence and he clapped his hands together, looking up with an excited smile. "Alright everyone, let's head to our rooms. You've got lots to pack if I'm not mistaken."

Davidoff herded the children out of the room and up to their bedrooms. He told them he'd be back in an hour, and that they should have all their clothes but what they'd needed packed.

"I can't _believe _these people," Chloe cried, throwing herself against a wall. "Why do they do this? Help us get settled, treat us like we're almost people, and then load us up like cattle. I hate it!"

Derek eyed her cautiously, and then wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Simon and Tori leaned against the opposite wall and nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean," Simon murmured. "I feel like they'll never be happy with us."

"Well, they won't be," Tori cut in. "We're dangerous experiments, remember?"

Derek laughed. "You see the look on Jace's face?"

Simon nodded, smiling wanly. "I see what they mean, Jace looked like he could have killed Enright. Got that sorta crazy thing going on."

"Wish he would have," Tori said.

"No," Derek said. "If he killed Enright, the doctors would be putting him down."

"They'll be putting us all down soon," Chloe muttered darkly. "Come on, we only have an hour."

They all split up for their own rooms, thinking about the next day, their last day, in Lyle House. Suddenly, it seemed like a great place to be, must better than the Edison Group. But who knew what was waiting for them there.

Chloe was almost sure it was back in the cell like bedrooms, pacing the walls in lonely misery. _Well, not lonely, _she thought with a twisted smile. Certainly, they'd pair off the children with their intended partners. She hoped she'd end up with Derek in her cell if anyone.

As Derek packed, he could only remember the strange room he was kept in as a child. Thoughts returned to the small classroom where he and the other werewolves were taught. He remembered the long hall leading there, the pale lights, the faceless walls, the emptiness. He'd fight tooth and nail to keep himself, Chloe, and Simon out of there.

Simon, who had never gotten the chance to explore the Edison Group compound, was picturing a future in a laboratory. All the children would be kept in cages, mounted on the walls, with little food bowls and water bottles turned upside down. Sort of like lab rats. A faint memory of the cartoon _Pinky and the Brain _surfaced.

Alone in her room, all her clothing packed, Tori couldn't even begin to think of the near future. She'd been in the same cell rooms as Chloe, but suspected that they wouldn't be there this time. If they'd escaped once there would have to be changes made. She didn't know what her mom had in mind, but it couldn't be good. She fell on her bed and clutched the blankets tightly when a heavy thump sounded over her head. What was her mom doing?

Only the thundering thump echoed downstairs, but the voices were somehow trapped in the attic. They jumped off the walls violently, but just sounded in the attic, doubling Clary's terror.

"Come on, Clary, it's only for a day. I promise, it'll go by in a moment," Enright sniggered, forcing her legs to move forward to the line of metal cages on the floor. Clary's mind was reeling; her body trying to struggle with Enright's magic but failing. She was stuttering like a little kid, desperate to be anywhere but where she was. Her legs jerked violently. "Get in the cage, Clary."

"N-n-no," she managed to get out, but it only made Enright's smile widen.

"_N-n-no,_" Enright mocked with laughter. "Yes!" With a throwing motion she sent Clary stumbling forward onto her knees before the cage door. Clary scrambled about, but it didn't do any good against the magic moving her.

"Leave her alone, Enright!" Jace bellowed from the stair landing. He watched Clary fall and scream and he felt a horrible desire to lunge at the woman and throttle her. He was shaking badly.

Enright tossed her hair back and glanced at him. "No, I don't think I will," she sang out, and snapped her fingers. Clary lurched into the cage, the door clanging shut behind her. The lock slid into place, glowing momentarily. "I think it suits the little freak. It's where she belongs…it's where you belong too, Jace."

"Clary…" He murmured. Clary was on her hands and knees, panting and overcoming the tremors that wracked her body after the magic. She looked up through her mess of hair, though the bars of the cage, and into Jace's eyes. There was nothing but terrified desperation there. Jace felt his heart stop for a moment. "Let her out of there; she hasn't done anything, Enright. I'll go willingly, but she doesn't belong in that cage."

"That's where you're wrong, boy," Enright said sweetly, advancing slowly on Jace. "She does belong in that cage, and so do you. It's the only place we can keep you and still be sure."

Jace was shaking so badly he couldn't clutch his hands together anymore. An image crossed his mind, an image of Enright dying in his hands. The sound of pounding blood lessened just a little. It helped him to focus.

"Be sure of what?" Jace hissed, slinking forward. "Of _what_?"

"Oh, Jace, can't you see it?" Enright could see his body trembling. She giggled softly. "Don't you see it in yourself?"

A sharp pain sprung up behind Jace's eyes. All he could think of was killing her. "The only thing I see is a miserable, ugly, half-breed witch who'll be dead soon if she doesn't let Clary go."

"But you are _so_ wrong!" Enright pointed at him, and Jace felt something like metal bands lock around his wrists. "You need to be in a cage. We need to protect; it is our job."

"You need to protect yourself soon," Jace breathed. He couldn't move, but it was only making the trembling worse. "I'll kill you, Enright."

She approached him with a coy look. "I need to protect the people, and for me to do that, you need to be locked up." She rummaged through the junk on the floor. She picked up a sharp of broken mirror. "Look at yourself, boy."

She forced Jace to look at himself, and he paused in his flow of curses. He saw his eyes, the pupils wide, wide enough to almost cover all the gold. His lips were pulled back in a snarl like an animal. All his hair was on end in a wild mane of gold. The longer he considered himself, the more he had to admit that he didn't look like a shadowhunter anymore. He looked like a wild animal.

"What have you done?" he asked softly.

"What have _I _done?" demanded Enright. "This is all you, Jace. And you wonder why we want you in cages? Look what you've become in your rage! Tell me I shouldn't use force to contain you."

Jace knew what she meant by force, and he wanted to tell her no, but he just couldn't. He saw too much wild anger in his eyes. "You did this to me. You made me into this."

"Yes," Enright admitted. She made a pulling motion, and Jace's body floated forward toward the cages. Clary squeaked in horror. "But, we're taking responsibility for you. This is the only responsible thing to do."

Jace crumpled on the floor when Enright released him, but before he could move, she kicked him into the cage. "It's inhumane," he croaked.

"Possibly, but it's the only option we have left." She straightened up and viewed Jace and Clary with a beaming smile. It pleased her to see the two so helpless. "And to be honest, I just love the sight of you like this."

Enright turned then, though Jace threw a curse after her, and she was gone. Jace watched her go and then fell back into the cage. Beside him, Clary was breathing heavy and staring at him worriedly

"Jace," she said softly. "Jace, you're shaking really bad."

"I know," he answered in the same tone. "I can't stop it."

Clary felt tears prick at her eyes. Just seeing Jace so ruined hurt her. He ran an unsteady hand through his hair and finally looked her way. She placed her hand on the cage bars, her fingers reaching out for him. "It's okay. It's not your fault."

Jace twined his fingers in hers and gradually, his body stopped shaking. It was like Clary could calm him just by touch. She was a living, breathing sedative. "I know, but-but, Clary, I still have to deal with it. And I can't. What if they're right? What if I really am a danger to everyone around me? What if we all are?"


	16. End Game

End Game

"This is it," Isabelle cried, waving the picture around, Max yipping like a puppy. He was dancing around Alec's legs excitedly. "This is the picture. This will take us to Jace and Clary!"

Alec took the picture and studied it carefully. It was a drawing of a pleasant Victorian house, sitting on a hill. A large green lawn reached up to the wrap around porch and flower beds trimmed the drive way, walk, and porch. From the windows, there were vague faces that he couldn't quite make out, and on the far side of the house, behind a wooden fence, was someone with curling brown hair. It was a quaint place.

"Clary drew this?" Alec asked uncertainly. He'd always thought she'd be given to anime. This was just a house.

"Yes, look, in the corner." Isabelle pointed to the lower right corner of the drawing. There is the green grass was a darker patch, supposedly cast by shadow, but Alec knew better. There was a rune in dark green. "She's left runes all over the paper, I'm sure. I think if we find them all we'll be to find where she is."

"Directions," Alec murmured.

"Hm," Magnus hummed. "You think she'd just tell us where she is."

"She couldn't," Isabelle said thoughtfully. "What if someone found this picture? They couldn't know what was going on. What if someone called the police?"

"She's right," Alec said. "We just need to decipher these runes. Can we go back to your house?"

"Opening portals all over New York state? Not something I enjoy." He tried to scowl, but the look of hope on Alec's face was too much. "But something I can manage."

Isabelle, Alec, and Max sat on a bench studying the picture while Magnus drew up the portal. Their eyes scoured the painting, finding more and more runes hidden in different places. It was tale of hiding and silence. Of control and submission. Isabelle shuddered as she read the runes. Something was bad here.

"Let's go, little ones. I want to be home in time for the new episode of Project Runway." He tapped his foot, but Alec knew he wasn't in any hurry.

As they came, the small group left. Through the portal, stumbling into Magnus's country house, and into his living room, they came. Isabelle managed to hold onto Max, but she flipped over a couch in the way and banged her head painfully. Alec flipped right into a chair. And Magnus strolled in with a relaxed smile.

"Let's get to work," Alec urged, staring at the picture in Isabelle's hands.

The three shadowhunters settled on Magnus's furniture and poured over the picture. Isabelle and Alec, who could spot runes better than Max, were in charge of finding them, and Max scribbled them down on paper. It took a while because Clary had hidden the runes well, but after an hour, they had a list that didn't bode well.

"What do we have?" Magnus asked as he came in a joined them. He had been working on putting up more wards around his home, so he was already worn when he joined them. "What are we dealing with?"

"Nothing good," Alec said darkly. "Do you know what these mean?"

Magnus looked them over and shrugged. "Binding runes."

Isabelle sighed angrily. "They're not just binding runes. They're used to hide things. To control people. To force a person's will. To keep help away."

"Do we know where we're going yet?" Magnus pressed. "It's all good that we know about this, but we can't do anything unless I know where we're going."

Alec and Isabelle exchanged a look. "No," Alec said finally. "It's like we're missing something. A key link. Every now and then, the picture does this weird, fuzzy thing. Like it's under water and the paint is running. But then it reassembles. I think if we find the last rune it'll change."

"That makes sense," agreed Magnus. "It sounds like Clary hid something in this picture. Directions to Lyle House."

"We need the rune!" Max cried frustrated.

"Why don't you all eat something?" Magnus suggested. "It'll help you think."

"We don't have time to eat, Magnus," Isabelle muttered. "We need to figure this out soon, before they move Jace and Clary."

"Isabelle, you're not finding anything now." Magnus looked gently over at Max, who was shaking. He missed that golden-eyed brat. "Come eat something."

Isabelle sighed and rose up, taking Max's hand. They followed Magnus into the kitchen to eat, while Alec glanced one more time at the picture. He couldn't stop his eyes from moving to the figure outside the house, the one with the dark curly hair. He was raking something. Alec blinked slowly. The rake, there was something with the rake.

With a sudden gasp Alec saw it. The head of the rake was a rune. The last rune. He traced it and the picture surged in on itself. The colors blended and the shadows dimmed. It was like viewing a painting under water. It swirled and churned. Alec called for Isabelle, for Max, for Magnus, for everyone.

The new picture fell into place.

* * *

"Get up, children!" crowed Nurse Talbot, pounding on the cage walls. "Get up, now."

Jace's eyes flew open, his fingers tightening instinctively around Clary's. He groaned and tried to sit up, though the cage bars stopped him from moving too much. Clary was stirring into life and she gave a small squeak when she saw the nurse. Their eyes met Clary relaxed, knowing Jace was right beside her.

"We're up," Jace groaned.

"Good, it's already late and you have to pack your things up." Nurse Talbot fiddled with the lock. "You need to pack and clean your rooms, bathe, and then come down in time for dinner."

Jace bit back any smart remarks and tried to quell his pride. It was hard for him to crawl on his hands and knees and not want to hit something. His knees protested when he stood up, but he grit his teeth and waited. Clary scrambled up and clung into Jace's hand like it was a life raft.

"Hurry now, downstairs." Talbot herded the children to the stairs, which they had to maneuver carefully. They were stiff and sore from the night in a small metal cage.

When Jace and Clary landed, they listened closely, and heard nothing. Clary looked uncertainly to Jace, who pulled her down the hall. Each room they passed was empty, the beds made perfectly, the desks set in orders, the windows closed permanently, and the floors swept and washed.

"Where is everyone?" Clary asked as she glanced in Chloe's bare room.

"The children are all downstairs, eating lunch and watching a movie. We decided that as a farewell gesture, we'd let the children enjoy themselves." She gave Jace a severe look. "The good children, that is."

Jace rolled his eyes and paused outside his door, still refusing to let go of Clary's hand. Her room was only a door away, but he didn't trust a single person in the house anymore. Nurse Talbot sighed and pointed to the bedrooms, staring pointedly at the cuffs on Jace and Clary's wrists.

"Just clean your rooms and we won't mention any of this," she said indulgently.

"Jace…" Clary murmured, and carefully freed her hand from his.

"Good, good," Talbot smiled. "Start packing up, there's a duffle bag for each of you. I'll be up in a while with cleaning supplies. We need the room to be spotless."

Jace and Clary turned to their own rooms with an aching need to be together. Clary threw herself on the bed, inhaling the almost familiar scent of Lyle House. She shuddered, the memories of the night in the cage surfacing, and had to clench her teeth together to stop from crying out. Then, as if to add insult to injury, she rolled over and remembered that she was supposed to be packing because she was being relocated to the Edison Group.

Clary managed to pull herself into the sitting position and she gazed around the room. It had been hers for just over two weeks, but it had to better than where she was going. The desk was heaped with tottering piles of books and papers. The clothes in the closet were hung crookedly on their hangers. Her shoes were gathered together in a mountain on the closet floor. There were bras hanging off doorknobs and chair backs, and her pants and underwear creeping out of the dresser. She twisted the strap of the duffle bag in her hands.

_Might as well get to work. _

Clary moved around her rooms like a zombie, going through the paces of cleaning. First she pulled all her pants and skirts from the dresser and folded them, next the shirts were folded, then the socks matched, the undergarments tossed together. The duffle bag was filled quickly, and Clary was staring around the rest of her room for anything else she might want to take.

There was her school work, her project she'd been working on since she'd arrived. It was the beautiful, leather bound book Dr. Davidoff had given her. Clary opened it and flipped through the drawings. Each one had the same rune on it, a rune of disguise and of knowledge. She decided to leave it. Someone would find it, someone would see the pictures. She hoped the Lightwoods would find it. They deserved to know the story that she and Jace and all the others had to tell. Someone had to know the truth of Lyle House.

Carefully, Clary pushed her bed and tucked the book into the farthest corner of the room. No one would find it there unless they scoured the bedroom for it. She new Isabelle would.

The sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs warned Clary that Talbot was returning. Frantically, she replaced the bed and sat on it beside her duffle like she had been waiting patiently like a good girl. Talbot came in with a bucket full of cleaning supplies in one hand and a Swiffer in the other.

"Is your bag all set?"

"Yes," Clary said softly.

"Good girl," she answered swiftly. "Just clean this place up and go take a shower. Once you're clean, come downstairs and eat. Then you can join the others for the rest of the movies." Talbot took Clary's duffle leaving her with the one change of clothes and the empty room.

Again, slowly, Clary went around her room in a daze. She swept and scrubbed the floor, washed the windows, wiped down the desk and head board and drawer, hung the hangers just right, and made the bed. It was as clean as it could possibly be. Clary hauled the cleaning supplies to the next door open and found Jace making his bed. When he saw her, he glanced up and smiled.

"Good to see your face," he murmured, and she noticed he was spinning the Morgenstern ring in his fingers.

"I brought these over for you," Clary said simply, and then joined Jace on his already made bed." She watched him play with the ring, and then grabbed his hands and squeezed. "Jace, I'm afraid to go. I'd rather spend the rest of my life here in this miserably happy place then even risk going to the Edison Group."

"I know," Jace said softly. "But with any luck, Isabelle and Alec will show up and save us."

"What if they don't make it?" Clary said, voicing for the first time, hers and Jace's fear. "What if they're too late?"

Jace pondered this for a minute. "I don't think Isabelle and Alec are going to stop looking for us. I think that if they find us gone from here, they will keep following our trail."

Clary breathed out. "I want to go home."

Jace stared at Clary in surprise. It was such a strange admission, something he could not fathom. Jace had been born and bred to fight, to not feel fear, and here was Clary, blatantly terrified. "I do too, Clary. I'd love to be back in the Institute. In my own room."

"I think we'll get there soon."

Jace considered this. "Even if we do escape the Edison Group, what will we go to? Back to Valentine? He's looking for us, too. And what about our…genetics? How can we be back in the normal world?"

"Maybe we'll just have to risk it," Clary said sternly. She reached out and kissed Jace firmly. "I'll take a shower while you finish cleaning."

"How about I join you?" Jace gave her a wicked smile. "I'm sure the nurses won't care. I'd think they'll encourage it."

"Clean your room, Jace," Clary sighed and left him smiling after.

The last few hours of the day at Lyle House passed in a blur. Clary took a shower, found Jace, who then took a shower, and they went downstairs. Nurse Van Dop drew them into the kitchen where they ate a small lunch of turkey sandwiches and potato chips. In the doorway of the kitchen, everyone's duffle bags were piled, and it made their stomachs turn.

As Nurse Van Dop picked up the empty plates she said, "You can go to the T.V. room now. Stay there."

Jace and Clary entered the room, and a sense of dread fell on them.

"You're okay!" cried Chloe, jumping up and throwing herself at Clary. "We didn't know what Enright was doing to you. We didn't hear any screaming after she came down." She pulled back and looked them both over. "You're okay, aren't you?"

"We're fine," Clary said. "It was just a night in the cages. She didn't…" Clary saw Tori looking at her in guilty horror. "She didn't hurt us."

"How are you?" Jace asked to the room at large.

"Fantastic," Simon said with a huge grin. "You know, enjoying _Bambi_. Snacking on chips. Waiting to be shipped off to a laboratory. It's the usual."

Jace nodded. "Sounds about right."

There seemed to be nothing more to say. As if they all came to a silent agreement, the six children gathered on the floor before the television. They pressed against each other, trying to take what little comfort they could in the other's company. No one knew when, but they had ceased to be separate kids, struggling against the Edison Group. They were all siblings, all friends, all lovers. They knew they were bound up in the same fate, and without each other, they weren't going to survive.

Chloe clung onto Derek, knowing that no matter how powerful she was, Derek's wolf strength would win out in a fight. He hummed deep in this throat like a wolf, and Chloe couldn't help but smile. Tori and Simon eyed each other curiously, trying to recognize each other in the other's face. And Jace and Clary sat side by side, their hearts beating in time together.

"Children," Dr. Davidoff said, pushing open the door. He smiled when he saw them all together. "It's time. Come into the kitchen. We need to give you a drug."

None of the children seemed fazed. They expected it. In a line, with Derek leading, they entered the kitchen and were faced with a line of unfamiliar doctors. Each one had a needle and a cold face. One by one, the children came forward and faced the doctors.

It was a tense moment. Derek wanted to lunge at the doctors for stabbing his brother with a needle, for pricking Chloe with one too. Simon and Tori were trying to swallow the facts that their mother was staring at them with cold, dark eyes. And Jace could hear his blood pounding in his ears again as a man jabbed a needle into Clary's neck.

But the tension abated as the drugs took effect. Jace made sure to settle on the floor beside Clary where she could see him. He hated when he saw fear in her eyes. He watched the doctors go from child to child, placing plastic restraints on their wrists, felt them secured on his wrist, and then he leaned back against a wall. Clary was beside him, she looked up with cloudy green eyes. There was no fear there, just that desperate longing and a heart wrenching trust. Clary knew that as long as Jace was with her, no matter where she was, she was going to be okay.

Jace knew it too.

* * *

Isabelle was standing on the sidewalk, one hand on the white picket fence, the other clenching a picture tightly. This was it. This was Lyle House. She could almost sense Jace and Clary, just up the hill. Her heart thumped faster in the chest.

"This is Lyle House?" asked Magnus skeptically. "Pretty swanky place to keep some genetically unstable kids. Wish the monks had had a place like this when I came into my powers."

Alec felt a smile pull at his lips and he squeezed Max's hand tightly. "Magnus can you check the place for that Enright woman before we go in?"

"Sure," Magnus said, and set to making a spell.

"Alec," Isabelle breathed. "Jace is up there."

"Jace!" Max cheered.

"Let me see the picture, Izzy," Alec said.

Isabelle passed him the picture, and he studied it again. After completing the rune, the picture had changed into something rather different. The house had morphed into a prison. The fence had lurched into the sky, spiked with tapering points. In each window was one of children, but the windows were barred and the children were staring out the windows in horror. The boy with the rake was chained to the wall. On the back of the painting were directions from the community swimming pool to Lyle House.

"This is it," he said, and felt the blades in his belt. If there was any Downworlders in there who were gonna try and hurt Jace and Clary, they'd be meeting his knife. "Magnus, did you check the grounds."

"I didn't sense any witches, but that doesn't mean Enright isn't blocking herself." He looked to the house. "Shall we?"

"Been waiting," Isabelle ground out. She took Max's hand and pulled him to her.

Alec pushed in the gate to the house and they began to creep up the drive. For a place that was supposed to be holding dangerous children hostage, it had very relaxed security. It was as if the children weren't even posing a threat anymore. Like the doctors who took them weren't even worried.

Blood singing, Isabelle trailed her brother, pushing Max behind her. They were up to the flowered side walk, the door was in sight. _You owe me, Jace_, Isabelle thought. It would be the first thing she told him. _You owe me up and down Madison Avenue. _

Alec came level with the door. He listened closely for any sign of danger, but the world was quiet. He pulled out the blade and held it tightly. Isabelle had her whip curled around his wrist. Magnus's fingers were glowing with white flame.

With a well aimed kick, Alec had the door in on it s hinges. He shot in the door, followed by Isabelle. Magnus shot a bolt of white light ahead of them. When the light faded, Alec and Isabelle stopped in shock, gaping at the sight before them.

Nothing.

The house was empty of life, it was obvious without having to check. There was no sound of voices. No creaks of people upstairs. No T.V. blaring a show. No humming electricity.

"No…" Isabelle whispered, dropping Max's hand. She dashed into the house, ignoring the cries of her brothers. She was in the kitchen, kicking over chairs, throwing open doors. She ran to the next room with the blank television and threw pillows all over the room. Up the stairs to the bedrooms, all empty and bare of life. "_No_!"

Alec had wandered into the kitchen in some form of shock, holding Max lifelessly. No one was here. They were too late. Jace and Clary had been moved to the Edison Group compound. He heard Isabelle screaming above him, throwing things, but that didn't matter. He went to the next room, Max by his side, shaking on the verge of tears. Magnus came up behind him wordlessly. What was there to say?

The desolation was too much. The loss of Jace and Clary was too hard. There just weren't enough words to explain the feeling of failure.

Alec looked around helpless. Max started wailing.

Nothing.

**This is the end of part one**

**Part two will continue in Children of Genesis**


End file.
